Mad Monday
by TheYummyPencil
Summary: Gabriella and Sharpay. A rivalry to end all rivalries! Hatred was born from the first moment they saw each other. But now, thanks to Ms. Darbus and a little magic, the two swap bodies and have to work together to fix it! TROYPAY AND RYELLA...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: As the title states, this is inspired by the Lindsay Lohan movie (one of her few notable ones) Freaky Friday! Except I'm using Sharpay and Gabriella. **

**This will be a Troypay and Ryella. But Gabbie will be in Sharpay's body so I guess it'll be a bit of a 'twincest'. And Sharpay will be in Gabbie's body so it'll still kind of be a Troyella! Yeah. **_**Bit weird.**_

**Mad Monday**

**Chapter 1**

**Crappy Monday **

Ms. Darbus

If there was one thing Ms. Darbus always tried her hardest to practice it was patience. The teachers that taught _her_ how to be a teacher never let her forget that teenagers were brats; conniving, ruthless, evil little _brats_ and she would do better to focus on the syllabus than on changing their characters.

Still, she kept her ideals intact as she walked into East High School. For the first week at least. After that, Ms. Darbus realized that kind but firm, sweet and wise, gentle and understanding were principles destined to be thrown out the highest window of a twelve-storey building.

It was not easy for Ms. Darbus to abandon her dreams of being the best teacher to ever grace the face of the earth, but over time she came round to reality and learned to toughen up on her students, _the demon spawn_. She learned how to handle them and their problems, settle their disputes, and counsel them without actually interfering in their lives. She was not a friend, she was not a parent, she was a _teacher_, entrusted with the young and pliable minds of America's future. And with that realization in mind she _did_ become the best teacher in East High, if not the world.

But when it came to the two girls sitting on the other side of her desk, she had no solid plan on what to do, except tear her hair out until she was left with nothing but sporadic, blonde clumps on her pink dome of a head. They made her _mad_, in every sense of the word, constantly driving her patience to the limit and beyond.

Sharpay and Gabriella. No matter what she said or did, they were always going at each other over _something_. Boys, friends, musicals, and Ms. Darbus took on some of the blame for throwing Gabriella into the competitive field of theatre (even though Sharpay was her only real competition). Yes, Sharpay and Gabriella harbored a fiery loathing for one another, and it all started with Twinkle Towne. Who knew a production with such a sweet and wholesome title would give birth to one of the deepest evils on earth? Darbus certainly didn't, and now she would have to repair the damage. They were in her homeroom after all. Damn and blast!

She sighed and clasped her hands on the mahogany desk in her classroom. She wondered what could be the matter now.

"And what could be the matter now, girls?" she inquired wearily.

The two glowered at each other.

"She put _pig's fat_ in my locker!" Sharpay piped up. She was dressed in a red cardigan with a pink empire-line dress underneath. And Ms. Darbus knew that under the table there was a pair of ridiculously high cherry-red stilettos. She had to smile at the girl sometimes as she watched her walk by in the hallways. Sharpay would probably shriek and collapse into sobs of indignation if Ms. Darbus ever expressed her opinion that Sharpay was a carbon copy of _her_ when she was a girl, except for the bizarre, rapidly changing fashion statements.

"That was _after_ you put a tarantula in mine!" Gabriella challenged in her high, sweet voice. So very different from Ms. Darbus, but the teacher also saw in this particular student, a mistake she used to make. Caring too much what people thought of her.

"You _said_ in Biology that that was the only 'exotic arachnid' you've never seen in real life. I thought it would further your education. I was being considerate."

"Well, so was I! Lord knows you could stand to gain a few pounds."

Sharpay gasped.

"_Girls._" She did not raise her voice. She did not need to. The terseness in it was enough. She had seen them in her classroom one too many times and she was starting to get cheesed off. That wasn't going to stop them, though. Darbus knew that once they left her classroom with detention and a call to their parents they would be at it again in two days.

So what on earth could she do other than _talk_ to them? Something more…_affirmative_ was necessary for these lunatics. But what? Ms. Darbus mind went swiftly to an old lady she had once met. A wise woman of Asian origin, who claimed to be able to…_help_ people in very unconventional, yet ultimately effective, ways. While Ms. Darbus liked and respected her (she did make the most fabulous spring rolls), she shirked her 'methods' as she did everything else concerning the supernatural. But now the situation was becoming desperate. Darbus was becoming desperate. But was she desperate enough?

"Girls," she continued regally. "I think it goes without saying, but I am _sick and__tired _of seeing you in my classroom! It is getting to be quite frightening! Tarantulas, _pig's fat_? You're destroying school property! Now you are in my class and _my_ Drama Club therefore you are my responsibility within this school. Once again, it goes without saying, but that reflects _very_ badly on me. Don't you care at all that your feud is damaging my reputation? _Don't_ answer that, Sharpay. Now this is the final straw, you two. You are looking at _suspension_ if you pull anything worse than these stunts today. I want you to apologize to each other. Don't make that face at me! Apologize! _And mean it_."

The two looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"I'm…_sorry_. Sharpay."

"I'm…sorry. Too. Gabriella."

Well, they certainly didn't mean it. But they said it, which was a start.

The two were dismissed. Darbus was sure she would fling a chair at them if they left any later.

When the door closed behind the grumbling pair she leaned back and sighed.

"What a truly crappy way to start the week!"

**A/N: Read, review and all that faff!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm getting SO fooking messed up on this site! The chapter title and heading did **_**not**_** come out the way they were supposed to! Oh well. Chapter 2 will be better. It will be PERFECT G damn it!**

_**Ahem**_**. As an homage to Lindsay Lohan (and by "homage" I mean stealing somebody else's idea!) there's a little line from Mean Girls in here. See if you can pick it up. **

**Oh, and I'm supposed to put a disclaimer, too, aren't it? Okay, this goes without saying but I do not claim to own High School Musical or any of its characters. Kenny Ortega is a better dancer than me. And he's an old white dude! But that's beside the point. **

**Enjoy…**

**Chapter 2**

**Road Trip**

**Sharpay**

Sharpay gave a sigh of satisfaction at her image in the mirror that evening. She wore a black halter-dress. It had red and black pleats at the bottom and was covered in glitter. Her red heels made her that little bit taller and a scarlet ribbon stood out against her blonde hair. Sharpay was going to a Chinese restaurant and she looked like a Salsa dancer. It was perfect.

Her mind wandered to the evening ahead. Ms. Darbus took the Drama Club to her favorite Chinese place once a month to commemorate Twinkle Towne's success. They all suspected she had nothing better to do with her time. And while Sharpay dreaded an evening of watching Troy and Gabriella kissing and cooing across the table, she liked her Chinese food.

But seriously! As if Gabbie was not annoying enough, she just had to land Troy, too. First it was the musical, _then_ she scored Sharpay's four-year crush. What would she take next? Ryan? She knew her brother was in puppy love with Gabriella and it may have expanded to strong attraction in the months since they had discussed it properly. She could not blame Ryan. She was a pretty enough girl. But if they ended up together she would blow chunks. It was impossible anyway. As much as she loved her brother, there was no leaving Troy Bolton for him. And Gabbie clung to Troy like a leech these days.

Sharpay was thrilled to notice that the more she held on the more Troy seemed to pull away. Maybe her perfection was finally boring him. Well, Sharpay was not above taking advantage. She had started to put on a much more pleasant persona around Troy. She did not act like an entirely different person, but she made the effort to be…decent. And sometimes they talked. Actually _talked_, and she liked it. Contrary to her initial beliefs, he was not as dumb as his pretty face suggested.

She was jealous of him and Gabbie, she admitted with a sigh. There was no denying it. At least not to herself. No one had ever made her feel as insecure as Gabriella did, like she would never be good enough for someone like Troy, and she hated her for it. She would continue to hate her until she shriveled up like a prune and died.

A soft knock on the door interrupted her musings. She knew it had to be Ryan because he always came in immediately after he knocked, not waiting for her invitation. Ryan was the only person who she allowed to disrespect her so blatantly.

He was dressed in a black shirt with red suede trousers. A red fedora was perched atop his sandy-brown head. Sharpay surveyed him with satisfaction.

"See! I _told_ you it would look good."

Ryan gave a wry smile and held out her black cardigan.

"The Darbus Bus has arrived," he said, holding it up while she slid into it.

"Thought I heard a car," she murmured. "Okay." Ryan offered an arm and she looped hers into it. "To the Great Wall!"

**Gabriella **

Gabriella always enjoyed her evenings out with Ms. Darbus, Kelsi, Troy and Ryan. It was a little weird at first. Seeing a teacher outside of school was like seeing a dog walking on its hind legs. But they all felt kind of bad for her as she obviously had nothing better to do with her time since breaking it off with Mr. Delaine, the art teacher. But that was just a rumor, fueled by Sharpay. A lot of bad things seemed to be fueled by Sharpay, even her troubles with Troy.

They weren't really _troubles_, per se. Troy and Gabbie were the kind of couple that never found anything to be really angry at each other about. But as of late Sharpay's lusting after her boyfriend was becoming less discreet. Gabbie was not threatened. She knew Troy was devoted to her. But once she walked into homeroom and found them talking, actually laughing, and for some reason it annoyed her. She politely warned Troy not to indulge Sharpay, even if she was "acting a lot nicer". Because then Sharpay might get the wrong idea and think Troy was actually interested in her, or something equally bizarre.

"Come in," Gabriella responded to the knock on her bedroom door. Troy walked in, smiling and looking typically gorgeous. He looked the same as he had the day they first met except the shirt was black. She felt a warm, fond feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had been having the warm, fond feeling for a while now and she imagined this must be what her grandparents felt when they looked at each other. But for some reason the thought terrified her so much she had to put it out of her mind.

"You look great," he kissed her cheek.

Gabriella glanced at the mirror perched atop her bureau. She wore a black empire-line dress and strappy sandals with a glittered shawl. Her hair fell in dark waves around her shoulders. Simple but pretty, that was how Gabbie liked it.

"Thanks. You do, too."

"Thanks."

They smiled at each other and for a few moments silence reigned. It seemed they had run out of interesting things to talk about as their relationship went on.

"So," he said slowly, swinging his arms.

"So," she repeated. They chuckled.

"Should we uh…go wait downstairs for Ms. Darbus?"

"Yeah," she chirped. "Sure."

She hooked her arm in with his and they walked down together, a cute perfect couple.

**Ms. Darbus**

Kelsi sat in the passenger's seat of Ms. Darbus' van and they pleasantly swapped ideas on this year's _music-hal. _They were on their way to pick up Ryan and Sharpay, and then Troy and Gabriella.

Ms. Darbus knew they all thought this dinner thing was her sad way of trying to maintain human contact after another failed relationship, rather than a treat for all their hard work. She wished she could say it was the latter, but if she were to be truly honest it was half and half. It was not that she did not have friends her own age, it was just that all her friends had actual lives.

But no matter. It would be a pleasant evening at one of the best Chinese restaurants in New Mexico. She had deliberately picked the Great Wall, which was owned by one Lu Ling Baxter, a clever, old woman who had emigrated from China and into a "marriage of convenience" thirty years ago.

It was but a precautionary measure that she was taking Gabriella and Sharpay to this particular eatery. Something catastrophic would have to happen for Ms. Darbus to resort to Lu Ling's "assistance." But one of the many lessons Ms. Darbus had learned from being a high school teacher was that it is always best to prepare for the worst.

**Author's Note: And the worst is sure to come. People, where are my reviews? I need my ego boost! He he he…just kidding. **_**Sort of**_**. Chapter 3 is coming soon. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Dear readers, wherever you may be…things are going to get hectic! So STAY TUNED! Shout out to omg, it's sunkissed blonde, Incandescent Angel, and of course, my formerly future, now **_**present**_** best online friend, Dernier Cri! That statement will probably only make sense to her, by the way. I'm not sure it even makes sense to me! **

**DISCLAIMER: I am far too lazy to think up my own fortune in the cookie for this chapter! So I fully acknowledge that the words of wisdom in that curved, golden delight come from the writers of Freaky Friday!**

**Chapter 3**

**The Last Final Straw**

**Sharpay**

Sharpay climbed into the van after Ryan. They greeted Kelsi and Ms. Darbus as she closed the door behind them.

"I really like your outfit, Sharpay," said Kelsi.

"Of course, you do." She had not quite forgiven Kelsi for finally growing a spine and standing up to her at the callbacks, therefore helping Troy and Gabriella crush her dreams.

"You look great, too, Kels," said Ryan warmly.

Sharpay rolled her eyes but said nothing. She supposed Kelsi did look okay in her red top and dark jeans, hair loose around her pale little shoulders. Dating a Wildcat had given her a lot more confidence it seemed, whereas all it gave Sharpay was a heightened sense of prestige. But her pride had taken a hard knock when Zeke dumped her. She was not one to be defeated, though. Sharpay would get back on that horse. She just needed to find an almost exact replica of Troy Bolton.

Fifteen minutes later Troy and Gabbie were climbing into the van. Sharpay was startled at the way her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. It was an unfamiliar feeling. The last time she had it in relation to a boy was when she first tried Zeke's cookies.

Well, really, Troy could make _anybody's_ heart stop looking like that. He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a crucifix glinted at his chest. Simple yet effective. She glimpsed his butt with a smidgen guilt as he slid into the back seat with Gabriella.

"Hi, Gabbie," said Ryan and she could tell that he was struggling to control the rapidity with which he spoke. "I uh…I really like your dress."

"Thanks, Ryan." She smiled that smile that was so perfect it could not be human and Ryan could barely reciprocate it. He seemed to collapse back into his seat and Sharpay could tell by the way he squeezed his eyes shut that he was wishing he could have said something less gay.

She grimaced for him. He would get over it, the way she was getting over her Troy infatuation. And he would find someone better. Well…he probably wouldn't. But it always helped her to say it to herself.

She busied herself re-applying lipgloss to her pretty pout.

"You really look beautiful," said Ryan suddenly, when there was a lull in the general conversation.

Gabriella smiled, softly now. Like a freaking fairy princess or something.

"Thank you."

"Doesn't she look beautiful, Sharpay?" She glared at him. He was making another desperate attempt to convey his emotions without conveying anything and it was only out of pity that she spoke.

"She looks…_simple_."

"Thanks, Sharpay." Gabbie's tone was wry now. "You look…_different_."

Sharpay ignored her and turned to Troy. "Well, now that we're on my favorite subject, what do _you_ think of my outfit, Troy?"

He shrugged in that helplessly charming way of his. "If you were going for inappropriate you nailed it." There wasn't a trace of malice in his voice, just mild amusement.

She gave something between a smirk and a smile because she did not want to show exactly how pleased she was.

Sharpay sat back in her seat and in the dimness of the car, exchanged a wistful look with Ryan, knowing he was thinking and feeling the exact same thing.

**Gabriella **

"God, have you noticed how much Ryan's been staring at you all night?"

Gabriella looked to the other side of the round table. Ryan turned away as soon as their eyes met.

She frowned slightly. "_Don't_ laugh at him, Troy," she whispered back.

He grinned in that harmless way of his. "I'm not! It's just, he kind of looks like puppy that hasn't been fed."

Gabbie shook her head and Troy resumed conversation with Kelsi, realizing she was not amused. Throughout their relationship Gabriella realized that Troy had something of a cruel streak in him. She did not like it. Not that she wanted him to be perfect or anything, just more sensitive. He was almost arrogant at times. But she could not blame him. With everyone in school labeling him a "superstar" he was bound to be a tad egotistical.

But the good thing about Ryan was that there was no delusion of grandeur about him. Whether or not Sharpay was pulling the strings Ryan was who he was, and he knew what he wanted out of life. He knew how to treat people. He had a good heart, and she thought him very brave, more so than people realized. Plus he could pull off a red fedora better than any boy on earth she knew of.

Both Troy and Gabbie knew Ryan had a crush on her. It was just one of those obvious things they never really talked about. And when Troy made fun of him or teased her about it she got very uncomfortable. But, of course, they never fought.

"Earth to Gabriella, _earth to Gabriella_!"

Before she knew what was happening the wine cork from Ms. Darbus' bottle had bounced of her forehead and into her bowl of chicken chow-main. She looked away from Ryan quickly.

Sharpay was giggling innocently. "I was trying to get your attention! You were like, a million miles away. _What_? Would you rather I threw a piece of pork?"

Gabriella looked indignantly to Ms. Darbus who was engaged in theatre talk with Kelsi. She tossed the cork back impatiently and it landed right in the middle of Sharpay's bosom. She did not have much going for her in the upper region but the dress seemed to squeeze and lift everything into the right place and Sharpay ended up having to fish it out, quite ungracefully. Gabriella caught her glancing at Troy and she turned just in time to catch him staring. Then he saw her glaring quietly at him and proceeded to focus on his plate. Ryan's lips were pursed in a vague smile.

Her cheeks flushed suddenly with annoyance. Was it the cork in her food? Or the sneer curling Sharpay's insolent, pretty little mouth. Who knew? Who cared? Gabriella managed to dip all five fingers into her glass of water and flicked it at Sharpay.

She flinched as if it were acid. "Careful, you brain with legs! This is a thousand dollar dress!" They had Ms. Darbus' attention.

"_That_ Halloween costume?" Gabbie said before she could stop herself. "I could have sworn it was a rental!" She flicked a bit more water.

"Gabriella!" Ms. Darbus exclaimed.

"Well, she started it! I was j-" Gabriella gasped. The table went silent. Sharpay had just filled up a table spoon with water and thrown it into her face. _So juvenile_.

Now Gabbie was a nice girl, but she was no wimp. She snatched a piece of sweet 'n' sour pork from Troy's plate and lobbied it at Sharpay. Ryan intercepted with his hand and Sharpay proceeded to pick up a piece of stir-fry chicken. She hit Troy. Before either girl had time to think, or listen to Ms. Darbus' angry chiding, noodles and chicken and sauce and water were flying and Troy, Ryan and Kelsi were ducking under the table and the whole restaurant was silent as the girls shrieked and cursed. In all the commotion neither girl noticed Ms. Darbus nod hastily to the Chinese woman emerging from the steamy kitchens.

It took Ms. Darbus' finally standing up and yelling in a way that would make banshees cringe:

"_ENOUGH_!"

Gabriella halted in the middle of flinging a fistful of noodles and it seemed to be taking Sharpay all the willpower she possessed to not to chuck Ms. Darbus' glass of red wine. Hot shame and embarrassment flushed her cheeks now. Troy, Ryan and Kelsi just looked shell-shocked.

"If this restaurant were built in East High," Ms. Darbus looked ready to explode, "you two would be _expelled_!"

The word expulsion was enough to make Gabriella feel faint.

Right at that moment, an old Chinese woman with a round sweet face and sleek black hair pinned back, approached their table. Gabriella totally expected to be screamed at in Chinese but all the owner did was smile a little. She was carrying a small silver tray of what looked like fortune cookies.

"Good evening, everyone," she said with soft geniality, as if nothing much had happened. As if two skinny young girls were not panting like dogs and covered in noodles. "Fortune cookie?" she offered. There were only two on the plate. Ryan reached out and Ms. Darbus promptly slapped his hand.

"I think this is the last time Gabriella and Sharpay will be out for a long time," she said tersely. "Let them have the cookies."

Sharpay shook her head slowly. "I'm not hungry any m-"

"Take. The. _Cookie_." Her eyes looked about to bulge out of her head. They obeyed without another word. "Go clean up."

They both clasped the curved, golden treats in their hands and made their way swiftly to the bathroom. Gabriella got there first and quickly locked the door on Sharpay. The crazy blonde proceeded to bang on the door.

"Hey, I need to use the bathroom, too! I've got freaking _egg rice_ in my hair!"

Gabriella ignored her, broke up the cookie and scoffed it before opening her fortune with shaky hands, her body working ahead of her mind. On the other side of the door, Sharpay was tearfully doing the same.

They both read in throaty whispers…

"_A journey soon begins, its prize reflected in another's eyes. When what you see is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back_."

She scrunched the paper up and threw it in the small waste bin by the sink. Gabriella was never one for fortunes, or anything related to the supernatural. Numbers, facts, statistics, that's what did it for her. What she struggled to get a grasp on (and this was one of a very short list) were her own emotions. She could not for the life of her understand why Ryan's pretty pout made her want to burst into desperate tears.

**Sharpay**

Sharpay scrunched up the fortune and tossed it away randomly. She could not regret what she had done.

She got to attack Gabriella! Gabriella was not clean and it was _her_ doing! And Troy had been staring at her boobs! Yes, it was lusty and mindless- typically male. But at least that showed he acknowledged her as a girl worth having, even if only for her body.

But she had humiliated Ms. Darbus and for that she was sad. She had not been thinking clearly and even now she was not thinking clearly and before she could sort herself out the earth began to tremble, suddenly, violently. Sharpay leaned against the door, gripping the knob for support as the tremors worked their way up to her head, making her very teeth clatter. The lights flickered. On the other side of the door Gabriella shrieked.

"It's an earthquake!" she cried over the din. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" was Gabbie's muffled response.

"What do you mean_, you don't know_?" she cried woefully. "Don't you have a _textbook_ on this in your purse or something?"

Just when Sharpay was going to scream for Gabbie to open the freaking door the tremors stopped. The lighting stabilized. Three seconds later Gabriella opened the door, still looking like she had hopped out of a garbage truck. Sharpay noted dismally that she was no better.

"You okay," Sharpay muttered.

Gabbie nodded hastily. "Just a little shaken."

"Oh, you did _not_ just say that!"

She suddenly caught onto her own pun. "Okay, that was totally unintentional!"

Sharpay smirked and then a second later realized she was supposed to be hating her. She pushed her way into the bathroom and they spent the next ten minutes fighting over sink space. There was no way of washing properly now, but they got most of the food particles out.

"Time to face the music," said Sharpay wryly.

"And you scoff at _my_ puns!"

Sharpay felt much more confident walking back into the restaurant now. The patrons would probably be too "shaken" to even remember their food fight and Ms. Darbus would be too worried about them to be angry.

Sharpay stopped in mid-step and Gabriella walked right into her back. They stared about the place in silence. The room was as calm and elegant as it had been before the food fight. Their fellow diners were talking in low, comfortable murmurs, some of them turning to stare at Shar and Gabbie shrewdly.

"Jeez Louis," she muttered. "You'd think nothing had ever happened!"

They walked to their table uncertainly where Ms. Darbus was as angry as ever, but remained silent. Ryan and Kelsi were regarding them apprehensively, Troy looked amused.

"Man, that was scary!" said Sharpay uneasily, sliding into her seat next to Ryan.

"It was," said Ryan. "Those white meats flying all over the place…"

"That was a _shameful_ display, you two," said Ms. Darbus stiffly. She said nothing else. Sharpay glanced at Gabbie.

"Er…did y'all not _notice_ the big earthquake?" And was she still going to punish them? Ms. Darbus was acting a little too controlled for Sharpay's liking.

Three pairs of eyes focused on her, confusion clear in them now.

"What earthquake?" said Kelsi.

"What do you mean, _what earthquake_?" said Gabriella. "It was five minutes ago."

They all stared at her. "I think we've all had enough excitement for one night. Thank you for spoiling a perfectly good evening." She rose regally.

Sharpay's eyes widened. What the hell was going on? "But-"

"_Get_ your things together, everyone. I'm going to apologize to Lu Ling for your behavior and then we're _leaving_."

She walked away, leaving an awkward, befuddled table of teenagers behind.

Sharpay crawled into bed after taking a hot shower, changing into her nightie, warning Ryan not to tell their parents what had happened or else she would kill him and then giving him a goodnight hug.

With Troy and Gabbie's typical canoodling and whispering sweet-nothings into each other's ears, the weird fortune cookie and the earthquake which apparently no one else had felt, the evening proved to be disastrous. But she _still_ got to throw food at Gabriella. And for now, that would do…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Dear readers, wherever you may be…things are officially hectic! Sorry if the chapter's a bit shoddy. Been quite busy. Thought I'd post this now for all who are still interested. But this weekend I shall set my mind to careful PLANNING! Planning tends to be helpful… **

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. If I did 'Gabriella' would wear glasses and have a terrible fashion sense. In other words she would be an ACTUAL dork! **

**Chapter 4**

**Where's My Face?!**

**Gabriella **

Gabriella felt extremely unusual when her alarm went off that Monday morning. Perhaps it was her sweet 'n' sour facial the night before but she had cleaned up thoroughly as soon as she got home. So what was it? She wasn't sure. Everything just felt different and uncomfortable, like she wanted to crawl out her skin.

She groaned and rolled out of bed, her eyes only half open. She even felt a bit groggier than usual as she made her way to her bathroom. Maybe some of that wine had been thrown into her mouth during the fight. Gabbie opened the door slowly and…what on _earth_? Her bathroom was a…_walk-in closet_?

She blinked thoroughly, trying to wake herself up from this dream. This _nightmare_ in which she seemed to be staring into Sharpay Evan's miniature boutique. She would recognize these life-sized Barbie outfits anywhere!

Gabriella turned round rapidly, her heart skipping a beat as she realized this was not her room. Her bedroom had a reasonable amount of pink in it but this…_this_ was beyond reason! This magenta hell covered in glitter could only be the boudoire of her rival. But how had she gotten here? What the hell was going on?

Gabbie looked down at her pajamas and felt her heart leap up to the vicinity of throat. Instead of seeing the white vest and blue _Winnie the Pooh_ pajama bottoms she had slid into yesterday, she was wearing a red negligee. What was this?

And wait…her _feet_…her feet were whiter! Not pale, but _lighter_. _Not_ the pigmentation of skin you would expect to hold Hispanic blood. Her hands were the same. Gabbie began to pant, feeling her body. _Was_ it her body? She felt a little lighter, thinner. And…her hair! The hair hanging over her shoulders was blonde! She was losing her mind.

Gabbie sprinted to the bathroom, whimpering and whining in a most puppy like fashion.

It took her two tries to find the door. The first was another closet, for sheets and towels it seemed, the second was _Ryan's_ room, she walked in on him perusing his drawers with toothpaste in his mouth. This wasn't even her house!

She finally found the bathroom, her mind in a whirl, and flung herself at the sink with the mirror perched atop it. Gabriella looked at her reflection to find it was _not_ her reflection at all.

It was very lucky thing that Ryan walked in at that moment. He was just in time to catch her as she passed out.

**Sharpay**

Sharpay slammed her hand down on the snooze button of the alarm clock with the groan that is owed to an early wake up. She swung out of bed groggily (the covers felt thicker that morning, and so did her body- must have been the pork) and made her way towards the closet. First things first, the selection of today's outfit.

She pulled the door open, eyes half closed and made her way into the closet. Sharpay halted.

"What the-"

She stared down at the cool tiles where her plush white carpet should have been. She looked to the left, and then swung to the right. Her closet was a _bathroom_! A moderately-sized, white and blue bathroom! Where the fook was her closet? Sharpay stumbled out and spun around.

"Where're my embroidered throw pillows!" she whispered, meandering about the place like a lost child. "And my fluffy teddy!" She gasped, staring at the walls in horror. "Where's _My Olivia Newton John poster_!"

Sharpay proceeded to slap herself ferociously, eyes wide as she took in the unfamiliar scene. After minutes of silent hysteria, she stopped, panting, and stared down tentatively at her body. Where was her negligee? _Why_ was she wearing _Winnie the Pooh_ trousers? What kind of sick joke was this!

Sharpay was only vaguely aware as she ran to the door that even her arms and hands were different, darker but familiar.

She flung open the door, ready to call for Ryan and very nearly fainted when her own body appeared before her, breathing heavily, wearing her red negligee and her dad's traveling coat.

Sharpay, before she could stop, began to shriek and point at herself, and then the other Sharpay began to shriek and point at herself. Or was it a clone? Was Sharpay really herself or-

"_What_ is going on here?"

The two Sharpays turned to see Mrs. Montez coming up the stairs, apparently dressed for work. Sharpay was ready to ask the same question but no words would come. Mrs. Montez was staring at her, puzzled, a little huffy.

"Gabriella?" Sharpay blinked. The woman was looking right at her.

"I- I'm not Gabriella!"

"I'm Gabriella!" Sharpay looked to her clone. How could _she_ be Gabriella? She was in Sharpay's body!

Mrs. Montez looked between the two, apparently not clued in to what was going on.

"You're not going to school like that, are you, Sharpay?" she asked suddenly.  
"She's not Sharpay!" said Sharpay. "I'm-"

But her clone rushed into the bedroom, dragging Sharpay with her and slammed the door on Mrs. Montez. She locked it hastily and exclaimed through the keyhole, "Bye, mum, have a good day at work!"

Before Sharpay could say another word her clone directed her to the mirror perched atop a bureau Sharpay had not noticed before.

A hand was pressed over her mouth just before she screamed again, staring wildly at her own image in the mirror. It was _not_ her staring back, but Gabriella. But how could _she_ be Gabriella?

"What the _hell is_ going on?" Sharpay whispered when her hysterics had died down. If she was in Gabriella's body then this had to be Gabriella in hers. What kind of sick joke was this!

"I don't know!" It was _her_ body, her negligee, and her dad's coat, obviously put on in a state of panic, and yet the timid look in her eyes could only belong to Gabriella. "I woke up today and I was…_you_! And now you're me! I ran over here after Ryan woke me up with smelling salts."

Sharpay shook her head slowly. "This is your house, and that was your mum. Where's _my_ house?"

"Where it always is! It's just _us_ that switched."

"But how?"

"If I knew don't you think I would've fixed it by now?"

Sharpay as Gabriella began to pace the room, aware now of how weird she felt. She was in somebody else's skin and it was God awful!

"You don't think it has something to do with that earthquake yesterday, do you?"

She watched in horrified fascination as the Gabriella in her body shrugged.

"It _was_ weird. Nobody else felt it but us. And overnight we're in each other's bodies."

Sharpay groaned and smoothed her hands over Gabriella's face and torso.

"_Hey_! Stop feeling me up!"

Sharpay snorted. "How you _flatter_ yourself! I'm just trying to get used to it is all."

"Don't get used to anything!" Sharpay heard herself squeal. "This is temporary."

"_Right, right_," she murmured, clenching and unclenching her fists. "_Temporary_. Let's head over to the Great Wall and have this fixed."

"Exactly. We'll go right after school. _What_?" Gabbie asked when Sharpay rolled her eyes. "We shouldn't skip classes."

Sharpay shook her head slowly. Never in all her sixteen years of existence did she think she would hear those words from her own mouth. This truly was a nightmare.

So they decided to head to school as usual and not tell anyone. Who would believe it? The only reason Sharpay could acknowledge this supernatural occurrence was because it was happening to _her_. And she had pinched herself several times just in case.

"So…" said Sharpay as Gabbie. "What do you want me to wear today?"

Gabbie as Sharpay shrugged. "I don't know…a pink t-shirt and some jeans I guess. You?"

Sharpay sighed and ran a hand through her new curly, dark hair. "We're going to need paper and a pen for this…"

**Gabriella**

Gabriella searched Sharpay's extensive closet, sure that at any minute she was going to stumble into Narnia. She avoided all the mirrors, which was no easy task as they lined almost every wall. This was something Troy would have a good laugh at.

Gabbie shook her head. It was all so surreal, in the most horrible way possible. She had hoped that if she ever _did_ find herself confronted with the supernatural it would be in the form of vampires or blood-spattered ghosts. Anything would be more bearable than this!

In the distance she heard a knock on the bedroom door and before she could invite the visitor in they entered.

It was Ryan. She smiled anxiously. _Time to be the best Sharpay I can be_. She noted through her anxiety that Ryan looked very sweet today. No. Sweet was too patronizing. He was _cute_. All plain looking with his sandy-blonde hair unkempt, wearing a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms. Both these items sported a designer label but still…

She lingered on his hair a moment. She had never really seen him without head gear of some sort. She always assumed he was a bright blonde like his sister.

"Morning."

"_Morning_," she tried to make the one word as imposing and snobby as possible.

"Where did you rush off to earlier?"

"I uh…I had a sudden craving for a piece of lettuce. From Libby's bistro. No more stupid questions," she added.

He narrowed his eyes incredulously. "_Okay_. What are you wearing today?" he inquired, leaning against the doorframe.

"_Um_…" she looked at the list, trying her best to be conspicuous. "I'll wear the _brown_ capris, cream camisole, cream cut-off sweater, gold bracelet on the right wrist, silver charm bracelet with the flowers on the left, canary diamond earrings, glittery brown pumps-"

"Since when do you need to write it down, Shar?" he interjected.

She shrugged. "Memory isn't what it used to be." She stared dejectedly around the closet. Where was she supposed to start? "Ryan," she murmured. "Does she-do _I_ always have to co-ordinate our outfits?"

He shrugged. "You always have. Why the sudden change?"

She regarded him for a moment. "No reason. No change. What're you going to wear?"

"Maybe the cream shirt and brown pants?"

She resisted the urge to give a vehement '_No_!'

"Uh…okay. Sure. _Go for it_. Oh and Ryan…" He doubled back. "Old age is catching up to me." she said apologetically. "Could you uh…help me find some of this stuff?"

Ryan nodded but the look in his eyes was of definite surprise.

Gabbie suppressed a sigh. This was going to be a long day…

"Where are…_Mum and Dad_?" Gabriella as Sharpay inquired. She and Ryan sat at the island in the Evans' spacious, terracotta-tiled kitchen, indulging in muesli and yoghurt with no sugar. _Yum_.

She asked because she always had breakfast with _her_ Mum, and when her Dad was alive he was part of the table too. They would never have moments like that again, she thought wistfully. The two of them with a gruff kind father figure at the head. And now she was missing home, not to mention the presence of actual _food_. Images of sizzling bacon and steaming sausage floated to her mind, along with bright yellow scrambled eggs and-

"Well, Dad's at work, _duh_," said Ryan, adding more vanilla yoghurt. It somehow looked less tasteless in his bowl. "Mum's upstairs snoozing. She's got to gather her energy for a day of shopping and drinking."

Gabriella frowned slightly. She was going to ask if they ever ate together as a family but then remembered that would be a weird thing for _Sharpay_ to ask.

"The bus'll be here soon," said Ryan, hopping off his stool and grabbing his backpack. "We better head out. You don't need to piss Darbus off anymore than you already have by being late for homeroom."

Gabriella nodded, thinking she should probably reply with a "_Who gives a crap_?" but unable to conjure it.

It may have been Sharpay, but it was just not _her_.

**Sharpay **

Sharpay plucked at her blue t-shirt with a dissatisfied snort. It was just so…_common_. How Ms. Darbus could think such a normalcy would fit into the Drama Club, Sharpay did not know.

She made her way down the carpeted stairs and as she descended an odd smell caught her nose. What was that? Bacon? And…eggs? And…_whole fat milk_? Sharpay grimaced. Breakfast. Breakfast without muesli! She could _feel_ the kilos before she even reached the kitchen. How did Gabriella manage to stay almost as thin as Sharpay with all that crap?

Whatever Mrs. Montez had taken before getting out of bed that morning, but Sharpay wanted it. She wanted to package it and sell it illegally underground, and maybe slip some of it into her own mother's martini once in a while.

As Sharpay entered the kitchen (it was spacious and sunny with hardwood floors), Mrs. Montez snatched two pieces of toast from the air as they popped out of the toaster. Sharpay could not remember the last time she saw a toaster, or any other machine affiliated with bread. She dropped them onto a plate, buttered them frantically and moved across the kitchen to stir the eggs. Then she changed over to the bacon.

"_Supermum_," she muttered wryly.

Mrs. Montez only paused briefly to smile at Sharpay as Gabriella, before dishing out the heinous, fat-saturated breakfast goods onto a plate, along with the evil carbolicious toast.

Would Mrs. Montez be offended if Sharpay flung the plate across the room and ran? Perhaps. Better not to risk it.

"Was there a problem with Sharpay today?"

"_No_," she said indignantly.

"Because she looked a little out of it." She presented her with the plate and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Great. She wanted to _watch_ Sharpay gorge herself.

"She just…" Sharpay picked up a fork with Gabriella's tanned, delicate hand and stirred her eggs. Part of her was tempted. Just a little part. "She needed to borrow a text book."

"And she couldn't get it from you at school?"

"She likes to have everything in order _before_ she gets to class. She's really very organized." Sharpay resisted the urge to laugh at her own statement. _Organized_. With fashion yes. With books no.

But Mrs. Montez nodded, satisfied with the response. "Well eat! The bus will be here soon."

She had Gabriella's smile. That beautiful, reassuring beam that crinkled the corners of her eyes. She wished _her_ mother had a smile like that. A smile less…Botoxed.

Sharpay's temptation grew and grew as she ate and until she couldn't get enough of the wonder that was eggs, _with_ the yolk. She could not remember a time when she wasn't on a diet.

Before Shar could consider asking for seconds the bus hooted outside. She picked up Gabriella's backpack reluctantly, wondering if it would be gluttonous to take the pack bacon with her for the lunch-ladies to cook. Hey. It _was_ Gabriella's body.

Even the bus looked different as Sharpay climbed on. She spotted Ryan and (this was too weird) and Gabriella in her body, sitting a row from the front. Ryan was doing all the talking which was good because there was no way Gabbie could come up with a sentence as remotely as witty as what she would say. "_The difference between a Tony award and Tony Hawk_."? That was brilliant!

Her heart stalled, literally stalled, when she saw Troy, his attention on an especially chatty Chad who was spinning a basketball between his index fingers. They were sitting in the backseat, which was reserved for the basketball robots, Jason, Zeke (she glared at him for a moment before realising it was a very _un_Gabriella thing to do), Chad and Troy. Taylor was in the front of them, a book in hand, and she primly patted the empty space next to her with an expectant smile. Sharpay blinked. She wasn't used to _anybody_ smiling at her expectantly.

She sat down next to the brainiac, noting that she had hardly spoken five words to her the whole year. Kelsi waved to her from the adjacent seat and she waved back.

Almost before her butt had touched the soft leather of her seat, Troy leaned over from the back and kissed her cheek politely.

"Hey," he murmured.

She barely managed a, "_Hey_," in response.

He sat back down and Sharpay touched her cheek very discretely, barely paying attention to Taylor. She felt it. It was meant for Gabbie's cheek but she _felt_ it. The sincerity of the kiss, the kindness of the voice …he went straight to that part of her that was more than physical. It was better than any of Zeke's stupid cookies!

Sharpay floated off the bus that morning, thinking that maybe being Gabriella for a day, wouldn't be so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter FIVE, biatches! Can I get a "WHOOP-WHOOP?" Thanks to all who have read and reviewed! A new character shall be introduced soon! **

**Oh, and sorry if the Chinese women in this seem a little stereotypical. I just thought I'd keep them as they were in the movie. **

**Chapter 5**

**Settling In**

Gabriella flopped back onto Sharpay's bed dejectedly. She could not _believe_ this was happening!

School was pretty awful as Sharpay, as far as her social life went. Her social life which was non-existent outside the Drama Club. And the Drama Club which consisted mainly of Ryan. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with Ryan. He was as sweet as she thought he would be, and more. He really loved her. Or rather he really loved _Sharpay_. He had rushed to her defense when a girl a grade above them called her a nasty word that started with "b" and ended with "itch" and asked her if she "wanted some o' this" while they were on their way to English Lit.

"What was her problem?" Gabriella as Sharpay asked shakily, after Ryan had warded her off with threats of going to the Principal.

"Uh…if I recall correctly," he said vaguely, "you kind of, _sort of_ made out with her boyfriend?"

"Oh. _Right_."

"Don't tell me you forgot?"

She shrugged. "These evil deeds tend to pile up. The less recent ones sort of fade away."

And in class she totally had to suppress her intelligence, which was the most painful part about being her nemesis. Answering all the questions correctly would just look weird to Ryan and the rest. Besides, why should she make Sharpay look good when Sharpay was obviously going to make _her_ seem…_blonde_?

But the tire on top of the garbage heap had to be when they went to the Great Wall. The hostess greeted them from the reception area as they rushed in. She looked a little like Lu Ling except, taller, younger and more fluent.

She asked if she could seat them (obviously deciding to put aside their previous spectacle), they declined and Sharpay rushed into a frantic explanation of what had happened since yesterday. For a moment they thought she wouldn't believe them, she would tell them to go home and study or something. Instead she smiled with a tense sort of cheerfulness and said "_One moment please_." A few moments later she was back from the kitchens, dragging the old Chinese woman behind her.

"Aha!" Sharpay had exclaimed and pointed accusingly.

"What you mean, _aha_?" Lu Ling had snapped. "I do nothing wrong."

"Dude, you totally pulled a Freaky Friday on us!"

Lu Ling blinked. "I do nothing wrong."

"_Ai-ya_!" the hostess had exclaimed suddenly and began to scold the woman in fierce Chinese.

Suddenly they seemed to come to a stalemate and glared at each other in silence.

"_Well_," Gabriella had interjected, struggling for patience. She wanted her bed and her mum and Troy. She had seen him put his hand around Sharpay's shoulder earlier and it seriously ticked her off.

"Take back this voodoo stuff right now!" Sharpay had said.

The hostess stared at them primly. "_Firstly_…the Chinese do not indulge in _voodoo_. Second, she can't simply take it back. Whatever the fortune requires of you, you must comply. Then-_probably_- the magic will reverse itself. I am _very_ sorry. Please except some complimentary spring rolls!"

Gabriella had gone for the spring rolls but Sharpay snatched them first. "Not with _my_ body you're not!"

Gabbie sighed and sat up in Sharpay's bed. She re-read the fortune they had fished out of the bathroom bin.

"_A journey soon begins…blah, blah, blah…what you see is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back_."

She snorted in a way that would make Sharpay proud. There was _no_ love between them. So how could they find _selfless_ love?

A knock on the door made her start and a moment later Ryan walked in.

"Hey, Shar." Gabriella shifted uncomfortably as Ryan flung himself onto the bed next to her. He tossed off his cap. She could smell the herbal shampoo.

"_Hey_," she said with a grouchiness that wasn't at all feigned.

"_Hey_," he mimicked her gruffly and poked her side.

Gabriella as Sharpay rolled her eyes, but she found herself fighting a smile.

"What's that?" Before she could even think Ryan snatched the fortune from her hand and began to read in a low, slow murmur.

"This from the Great Wall?" She nodded. "And the cookie that never was? _Right_." He had rather pretty eyes, she noted. Not as nicely shaped as Troy's but lovely all the same.

He snorted suddenly. "_Selfless love_. I'm assuming that _doesn't_ apply to Gabriella."

Her heart skipped a beat at her own name. What did he and Sharpay say about her in the privacy of their home?

"That little bug?" she said, conjuring up all the Sharpaic nastiness she could manage, and some of her own, too. "Of course not!"

Ryan sighed. "I really wish you would leave her alone already, Shar." Gabbie wished she would, too. "I mean, I know she took Troy and your part in the musical or whatever, but you've done so much for the Drama Club already. This was a first for her and she did really well. She was…"

"Beautiful?"

"More than."

Gabriella suppressed a smile. She was fishing for compliments and he didn't even know it. It just sounded sweeter coming from him. "She was average."

Ryan shook his head and rolled off the bed. "Just please try and be…_okay_ with her. If not pleasant. Because she's really great when you just talk to her."

"And how would you know that? It's not like you're best friends or anything."

Ryan shrugged. "I just…I _know_. Dinner will be ready soon," he changed the subject rapidly.

Words suddenly failed her as she looked at him. There was just something so wholly…_good_ about him.

Gabriella only realised that she had been holding her breath after Ryan left the room.

**Sharpay **

"I suppose we should just settle in for now."

That was all Gabriella could say as they trudged to each other's homes. Settle in. _Settle in_? How was she supposed to just settle in to this middle-class mediocrity?!

All right. She was willing to admit she liked spending time with Troy. She wasn't used to being so close to him that the smell of his cologne stayed on her clothes after he was gone. It was a good feeling, being all cherished, the way she had been with Zeke. But it was all hindered by the fact that when Troy touched her he was not touching _her_. And when he looked at her he saw Gabriella's eyes. She had thought of him a lot, in the privacy of her room with the lights out. And now it was all happening, just not the way she pictured it. Plus, she could not fully enjoy everything because she was so busy trying to be boring. She and Gabbie had made a deal to not deliberately mess up each other's lives, or else things would get more unpleasant than they already were.

She was also willing to admit that it was nice to spend time with a friend that _wasn't_ Ryan. But Kelsi just got so annoying sometimes and Taylor wouldn't stop with the Science talk. Sharpay didn't _want_ to talk about hydrogen bonds and all that Einsteinette baloney! She wanted to talk about music and dating and celebrity and politics. Nobody would believe it, but Sharpay _did_ watch CNN sometimes. And- even crazier- she knew what was going on.

There was a quiet knock on the bedroom door.

"Gabbie?" It was her mother until further notice.

"Yeah?"

"Dinner's ready."

She sighed. "'Kay. I'll be right down."

On the dinner table were "quesadillas" which were unfortunately so delicious they cheered Sharpay up a little.

She looked around the kitchen. The dining room was no longer in use. Probably because Gabbie's dad wasn't around. She didn't know what had happened to Mr. Montez, but even if she was in her own body she wouldn't have asked.

"_Mum_?" But there was one thing she could ask, and she felt compelled to at that moment. "You don't ever really…_date_ or anything, do you?"

She smiled uncertainly. "Oh, you know I'm too busy for that. Why do you ask?"

Why didn't she ask before, is what Sharpay was wondering. As much as she hated her dad for being too busy for them, she knew she would not be able to go on knowing she could never see him again. Dads were important, and so were husbands. Everybody needed one, or at least something close.

She shrugged Gabbie's shoulders.

"It's just…don't you ever get like…lonely? Or anything?"

The smiled faded a little, despite her best efforts. "Of course not. I've got you, don't I?"

Just the type of thing a self-sacrificing supermum would say. "But aren't there times," she persisted, "when you come home to this big empty house while I'm at school, and you wish you had…a _male_ around?"

Mrs. Montez shook her head slowly, concentrating on her plate.

"Gabbie…I know how you feel about me dating."

"How do I feel about you dating?"

"The way every child has a right to feel. You- you think that no one could ever be as good as you're dad, and no one ever will be. You think me dating would be some kind of insult to his memory."

Sharpay frowned. So there was a chink in Golden Gabbie's armour after all!

"Don't you think I'm being selfish?"

She suddenly looked upset. "You have homework to finish, Gabriella," she aid softly. "Let's not talk about this now."

Sharpay knew better than to pursue it further.

"Thanks for dinner," she mumbled.

Mrs. Montez eyed her curiously as she began to clear the plates and Sharpay made a quick exit.

**Author's Note: Things are getting a little heavy now! Don't worry. This isn't going to plunge into the realms of HSM angst.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! What's crack-a-lackin'? That's right, Dernier Cri! I said it! CRACK-A-LACKIN'! More superfluous 90s phrases to come!**

**Okay, we're starting again from Shar's POV, because I enjoy writing her a little bit (okay, **_**a lot**_**) more than Gabriella! It's going to be a little short. I just needed to get it to you before I start studying! **

**Oh, and I had a happy little High School Musical incident at school today. One of my classes is really small, so we're an intimate group. What we gossip about in there **_**usually**_** stays in there. So I'm sitting quietly, buzzing on the inside because I just watched HSM 2 and thinking I'm the only loser that cares. **

**And then out of nowhere I start humming "Work It Out," not even knowing it. And this one girl in class, who just happens to be one of the most popular girls in school (maybe in the city), a totally cool, chilled chick hears me and goes, "OMG, did you **_**watch it**_**? It was **_**so**_** good, wasn't it? Don't you think Troy and Sharpay are so good together?" I was so relieved! Liking HSM is almost a stigma at my school, even though sixty percent of us watch it. And so the two of us went off on this fifteen-minute tangent about Troypay and how Gabriella sings so "nasally", and everybody else was like "WTF?" Ha! It's a good thing our teacher's such a pushover…**

**Chapter 6**

**The Invitations**

**Sharpay **

"Check it out!"

Someone pulled up a chair next to Sharpay as Gabriella's desk that morning in homeroom. She looked up from the book she was pretending to read to see Chad there. His grin was even wider than usual and the very curls on his head seemed to tremble with excitement. He presented Sharpay with a florescent green piece of paper.

"What do you think?"

It looked like an invitation and read…

**HEY** (a space to fill in names)

**Chad Danforth and the rest of the Wildcats are inviting YOU to party like it's the 1980s! Finally, your dad's drainpipe pants will come in handy! Dress to impress, big hair and the rest. You can be any iconic character you want, or just come as a bad Eddie Murphy impersonation. Please be so kind as to contribute drinks, because we're all in this together! **

**Party kicks off on Saturday night from 7:00 at Chad's house. If you need an address to find it DON'T BOTHER COMING!**

Sharpay suppressed a snort. It was so cheesy and self-indulgent. Why hadn't _she_ come up with anything like it before?

"It's cute!" she said, handing it back.

"Really? Thanks! Just thought I'd get the approval of a girl that _doesn't_ want to make out with me."

"Well, you came to the right place. I guess it's time to pull out my Michael Jackson costume, huh?" she added.

Chad looked puzzled. "Wait. You're actually coming?"

She frowned. "_Yeah_. Why? You don't…want me to?" Great! Even as Gabriella they were rejecting her.

"No, no!" He shook his head vehemently and his hair quivered once more. It seemed to have a life of its own. "Course not. It's just you don't ever come to these things. You just get all high and mighty about me bringing alcohol."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "_That's_ what I do, huh?"

"Yep! But hey, we still love you!"

"_Of course you do_."

Really! There Sharpay was, only ever having gone to one of the Wildcat's parties when Zeke begged on her behalf (and even then she didn't get an invitation). And on the other side of the spectrum there was freaking Gabriella, the most popular girl in school and she wasn't going because she wanted to _study_ or what-freaking-ever!

But all thought of Gabriella disappeared as Troy walked into the room. Was she going crazy or did the clock stop whenever she saw him? She was going crazy.

He was wearing that ugly blue shirt of his again and he smelt like some musky guy cologne as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. She offered it with no hesitation.

"Gabbie's coming to the party," said Chad before they could say anything to each other.

Troy looked between them as he sat at the desk behind hers. "_No way_. Since when?"

"Since now," said Sharpay.

"But I thought your mum didn't like you going to these things."

"I'll find my way around her," she said sweetly.

Troy gave her a curious look but nodded anyway.

**Gabriella **

When Gabriella as Sharpay and Ryan entered homeroom together they were greeted by an unusual sight. Chad and Sharpay in Gabbie's body were running around the class, handing out party invitations and politely turning down certain students begging to be invited, too. Gabriella shuddered discretely. She still was not used to seeing her own outer shell prancing around, Sharpay in it like a gut worm. But that was _not_ the weird thing just then.

She could hear her voice chiming, "Please _don't_ go as Cindy Lauper! That's my idea."

"She's going as Cindy Lauper?" Ryan murmured as they found their desks. "That's really cute. I think it would've worked better on _you_, though, Shar."

Gabbie was not in the least bit concerned about the costume. She was concerned about the fact that Sharpay was taking _her_ body to a party! And who knew what she would do with it? Gabbie _never_ went to Chad's get-togethers, or any other Wildcat bashes. It just wasn't her scene.

She stopped him politely as he passed.

"Uh…hey Chad?" she said in very _un_Sharpay tones. "Could you slip _us_ an invite?"

Chad glanced around. "Um…_no_."

He walked away without another word.

"Don't degrade yourself, Shar," said Ryan. "You're too good for his stupid keg parties anyway."

Gabriella ignored this and stomped over to Sharpay. She grabbed hold of her arm and squeezed, dragging her into a corner of the bustling classroom.

"Don't even _think_ about taking me to that party!" she hissed.

She watched herself smirk. "_Too late_. Thought about it."

Gabriella as Sharpay shook her head forebodingly. "Well, if you're going, then I am too."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said Sharpay sweetly. Gabriella felt a wave of nausea. She didn't really sound like that all the time, did she? "Chad told me not to invite you."

"And by that he meant _you_!" Sharpay snorted and Gabbie squeezed harder. "Sharpay Evans, you are _going to_ invite me and Ryan to that party."

Sharpay pulled away abruptly and sullenly. "What is your _problem_, Gabriella?" she whispered. "You don't even like parties. Why would you want to come?"

"To make sure you don't make me look stupid! Dancing on tables and whatnot! But if you don't say I can come, I- and by that I mean _you_- will gatecrash and make a complete jackass out of myself. And by that I mean _yourself_."

Gabriella watched herself pout. It was very unbecoming.

"You're way more devious than you look."

Mrs. Darbus swept into the classroom just before Gabriella could point out the fly in that logic ointment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **_**Fo' rizzle, ma pizzles**_**! Chapter 6 was too short! Sorry! School sucks. I'll try and make them lengthier. And to Zashley Rocks…yeah! That seems to be the general consensus. She's lovely to look at, but she can't sing for s! Thanks to Incandescent Angel, Dernier Cri, njgirl, starship gazer and all the rest! **

**Chapter 7**

**Questions**

**Sharpay **

"You look adorable."

"Adorable, huh? Well, I was going for sassy, sexy and cute, but adorable could work, too!"

Sharpay as Gabriella was dressed in full _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_ regalia. The crazy red dress, the shoes and accessories, her hair done up in a curly dark imitation of Cindy's. It really paid to have money, and connections to the more outlandish fashion designers.

Looking in the mirror of Gabbie's bureau, however, she saw what Troy meant. On her own body it would have been sassy, sexy and cute. But on Gabbie it was almost beauty pageant.

Sharpay wondered if she and her nemesis should have come up with suitable costumes for their own bodies, and then swapped. But that would have required co-operation. She could only hope Gabbie didn't have her dressed up as Madonna or something equally passé.

She flung her arms around Troy's neck. He also went down the musical icon route. He was "the cop" of the Village People (Chad would be "the red Indian", Zeke "the cowboy" and Jason "the construction worker"). She wasn't sure about the leather jacket, but hot damn! Those pants! God had blessed Troy with a tight set of…_legs_.

For the first time Sharpay (or rather Gabriella) planted a kiss on Troy's lips instead of his cheek. She was full to the brim with lusty thoughts and could not bring herself to think before acting. She pulled away ten seconds later and there was that quiet suctioning sound that's a sign of passion. Troy was taken aback.

"Whoa…" he said, looking fairly dumb. "That was…_different_."

Part of her felt guilty, like she was stealing or taking advantage. Sharpay's (well, really Gabriella's) eyes fluttered shut as her conscience took over. If he only knew how _different_ it really was…

**Gabriella **

If Gabriella did not know Ryan was infatuated with her, it would be times like this, with him singing the words to _Like A Virgin_ when she would seriously question his sexuality.

Gabriella as Sharpay was all decked out as skanky Madonna in her wedding dress, curly hair and pearls. She had never really understood what "_Like_ A Virgin" meant, nor did she want to.

Ryan was channeling the hair metal phase, with a leather jacket, jeans and boots, an overwhelming, curly blonde wig on his head. It almost made him look like a little girl in a beauty pageant and Gabriella could not help laughing every time she saw him. Troy would never pull it off.

Ryan had not wanted to go, insisting she knew he was not into parties. She emphasized. Gabriella would have loved to stay home watching movies, not feeling the least bit guilty about leaving Troy girlfriendless.

But she needed someone to come and keep her company and because Ryan adored her- _Sharpay_- so much he eventually crumbled.

"What the hell did you say to Gabriella to make her invite us anyway?" he inquired, helping zip up the dress. "You threaten her life or something?"

Gabriella grinned. "_Something like that_."

He turned her around and stepped back, scrutinizing.

"How do I look?" she tried not to sound as anxious as she felt.

"_Like the cutest skank I've ever seen_." This did not come from Ryan but from Mrs. Evans, leaning against the bedroom doorway. Gabriella's heart lurched uncomfortably. She hadn't seen her once since her first unwilling night in the Evans house. She was thin like Sharpay, but taller, and her graying blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her face appeared taut and over-tanned, but pretty. Her blue eyes gleamed.

"Just don't get _too_ deep into character, Sharpay," she drawled. She wore a black tracksuit, back from a work out apparently, and had an empty martini glass in her long, elegant hand. "Remember to keep your legs _shut_."

Gabriella's mouth fell open. She didn't know how to respond to that. Mrs. Evans made an indifferent face and sauntered off. That wasn't how other people's mums talked to their daughters, was it? She knew Taylor and _her_ mum often bantered but it was always light-hearted, and Kelsi and her mum never fought at all. Gabriella certainly would not expect her mother to talk to her like that, like some bitchy cheerleader.

She shook her head slowly. For the first time she kind of felt bad for Sharpay.

"I don't like it when she talks to me like that," she muttered, tugging down her dress a little. "Is she this mean to you?"

"Nope." Ryan grabbed her hands and for a moment she was alarmed at the touch. "Dad usually handles all my verbal bashing, remember?" He put her hands down firmly at her side. "But they're just a bunch of drunks. You look great."

And she trusted him enough to believe it.

**Sharpay**

There may as well have been a red carpet rolled out for all the treatment Sharpay got as Gabriella. Eager Madonnas and Joan Jetts swooped down on her with numerous air-kisses, complimenting her outfit, taking pictures. Guys greeted her from a respectful distance and blew kisses. But all this grandeur was nothing compared to the way Chad's house had been decorated. How he had arranged this without his parents finding out, Sharpay did not know. But she wanted to.

In the flashing pink, purple, blue and red lights Sharpay could make out framed movie posters lining the walls; _Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire_. Balloons with various Wildcat faces on them were attached to staircase railings and floated to the ceiling, with the words **WILDCATS, Class of 1980! **She resisted the urge to burst Zeke's rotund, grinning face with her nail.

The house was clustered with nameless, faceless students, representing the various highs and lows of the 80s fashion movement. From the leather phase to the tight pants with shirt sleeves rolled up, from the God-awful mullet phase to that ridiculous hair metal. The Knack's _My Sherona_ blared on the speakers and everyone bopped inoffensively on one spot as they clasped red styrofoam cups and tried to gossip over the noise.

It was like some surreal cross between a gay bar and an 80s nightclub. And that basically summed up the whole time period she guessed.

As Troy led her to the kitchen where the food was, Chad and Taylor yelled at them from the staircase.

"Sup, man!" he greeted as they reached each other. Troy and Chad exchanged the manly hug and pat on the back, and Sharpay resisted the urge to recoil as he pulled her into a light, friendly embrace. In her own body or in Gabbie's she could hardly stand him because he could hardly stand her. Chad was a definite factor in her breakup with Zeke. But she was long since over that, and the night was young.

He had stuck to the plan thankfully, so Troy didn't look like such a jackass in his police helmet. He had nothing on but some brown pants, sandals and a crazy Native American headdress. There was red, white and blue war paint under his eyes and the infamous hair had been tied back into a ponytail so he was barely recognizable.

Taylor opted for a tight pink halter dress and crazy red heels, her dark curly weave falling down over one shoulder. Something like Whitney in_ I Wanna Dance With Somebody _(**Author's Note: I think you can tell by this point that I'm quite an 80s enthusiast!)**. Large plastic bracelets clinked at her wrists.

"Do you parents know about all this?" Sharpay as Gabriella yelled when they pulled away from a girly hug.

"Do they ever? They're on a mini-break at Lava Springs. Thanks to my persuasion, of course."

Sharpay wished she could convince her parents to leave on a mini-break once in a while. It was enough of a mission just to make them put down the martini glasses.

Chad glanced over her shoulder a few times as they talked (or rather hollered) about the _YMCA_ kareoke that was bound to take place, before his gaze finally fixed on one person behind her. His face fell.

"Oh, in the name of all things holy!" Chad exclaimed.

Sharpay as Gabriella and Troy turned. Sharpay failed to notice that Troy's expression was a lot less put out than hers…

**Gabriella **

It was only when Ryan and Gabbie got to the door that Ryan realized he had forgotten the wine coolers. And he just _had_ to double back and get it. She wondered if he had done it on purpose. She could not blame him. She would have done the same.

Chad had really gone all out, Gabriella realized as she walked hesitantly into the house. Even as herself she would not have been comfortable. All those great 80s movies she had heard of but never actually watched lined the walls in posters, and balloons with Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason's faces on them floated to the ceiling. It was funny how self-absorbed they were from somebody else's eyes.

It seemed for a few grateful minutes that no one would recognize her in the Madonna get up, but she had barely made it past the sunken-in living room when Chad stormed towards her ,half-naked with Taylor in tow, and Troy pulling her body behind him.

"What're you doing here, Ice Princess?" he demanded, barely audible over the noise. "Didn't you get me the first time I said no?"

For a moment Gabbie thought of slapping him and yelling, "It's ME, you moron!" And then the next moment she thought of how different he would treat her (assuming he believed the story) if he found out who she really was. He would be a lot sweeter probably, friendlier, but would it be genuine? Which Chad was the real Chad? Were any of Troy's friends as good as they appeared? Or were they just good to him? And to her because she dated him?

"_Hello_?" Chad was going at her again.

"Gabriella invited me."

Chad snorted. "Of course, she did."

She hastily looked at herself over Chad's shoulder.

Sharpay seemed to come out of her own trance and pushed forward.

"I invited her, Chad!"

He glared at her now. "You _what_?"

"I invited her. And Ryan."

"Why the hell-"

"I thought it would be the nice thing to do! Why is she so much worse than the rest of us?"

"_Because_-"

"Lay off her, man!" Gabriella as Sharpay blinked. What was this? Troy rushing to Sharpay's defense? "She _said_ she was invited."

Chad seemed to choke on his own sharp retort when he saw the look on Troy's face, and with great reluctance he swallowed it.

"Fine," he said sullenly. "We're all in this together, right?" They all nodded slowly. "I assume you brought drinks."

"Ryan's got them," she muttered.

He nodded. "Great. Let's get this party started then, people!" He grabbed Taylor's hand and dragged her off. Taylor grabbed Sharpay as Gabriella's hand and she too was pulled reluctantly into the party, which was growing more frenzied as the cups were refilled and the Michael Jackson CD was pulled out.

Troy stayed, looking a little shifty and awkward. Gabriella stared at him wistfully. It seemed like forever that they had been apart. Had it not been for Ryan she would be bursting into tears all over the place.

She missed those eyes, she thought, as he took off his police shades( he really did look ridiculous). She missed the way he looked at her. The restrained longing, the feeling she got that he was trying to take in every part of her with his eyes. As if he would never see her again.

Then suddenly it hit her. He was not looking at her- Gabriella- like that. He was looking at Sharpay. _Why_ was he looking at Sharpay? Why was he telling her he was sorry for what Chad had said, and that his friends just got stupid sometimes, and that he was glad she came because he didn't see enough of her at school? Why was he telling her he remembered those days in kindergarten where they always tried to see each other?

And why had Troy never told her he and Sharpay went to kindergarten together? And that they were friends of some sort.

Gabriella had so many questions by the time Ryan arrived that she was angry. She wanted answers. She was going to get them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: First off let me apologizzle for the meager chapter! My mum is breathing down my neck to 'get some work done', (other than fanfics) so I'm churning out little sections of the party as fast as I can, as opposed to just two chapters and then moving on! Anywho, please enjoy. Where's Dernier Cri at?! Hope she hasn't been hit by a bus or summat! Suggestions welcome…**

**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own High School Musical, OR the Googoo Dolls' 'Iris'. But it's one of my fav songs.**

**SHAMELESS PLUG: All Harry Potter fans check out my Fred and George fic if you like! It's called My Brother and I…**

**Chapter 8**

**Songs For Troy**

**Sharpay**

"_Hey, hey, hey! It's fun to stay at the YMCA! IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA-A!"_

Sharpay was caught between crazed laughter and cheering as she bopped along to Troy, Chad, Jason and Zeke's performance. It was a sight as would make Elton John weep with joy.

The party was in full tilt as the clock moved towards midnight. An actual stage had been set up in Chad's living-room, along with a kareoke machine and mic stands. "The Village People" pranced around, looking quite confused as they belted out their one and only hit, Jason wiggling his butt every now and again for attention.

Sharpay turned to make a remark to Ryan but found she was standing next to Ian, a lanky member of the school basketball team. She shook her head and glanced back at her brother, in a corner of the room with Gabriella. She was starting to miss him a lot. But she didn't want to go near him tonight. He had been ogling her ever since he arrived and it was _seriously_ freaking her out, even if she knew he was looking at Gabriella.

The performance was as awkward as it was entertaining, and they all looked a little relieved as it came to an end.

"Thank you, thank you!" Chad grinned his smarmy grin as the now drunken applause swelled. "I'll be here all night, people! All right…" the cheers and random calls of '_We love you, Chad_!' subsided. Sharpay rolled her eyes discretely as Troy walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Love you, too. _Now_…the mic is open, people! Who's gonna rock the house next?"

Suddenly nobody had much to say. Sharpay glanced up at Troy who shook his head fervently.

"I've embarrassed myself enough."

She smiled. "_Fine_. I'll go alone."

"You will?"

"What's with the tone of surprise?" she teased, sliding out of his grip. "You think I can't function without you?"

He shrugged. "Prove me wrong."

She settled a hand on her hip in a most _un_Gabriella stance. Troy watched at her curiously as she raised a hand.

"_I'll_ sing, Chad!"

Cheers of encouragement now. She cocked her head at her temporary boyfriend and sauntered through the audience, every nerve in her body buzzing from alcohol and excitement.

Sharpay as Gabriella whispered her request in Chad's ear and he nodded, hopping off stage to get the CD.

She glanced at Gabriella who was glaring at her. In fact, she looked just about ready to jump on stage and drag her away by the hair.

"All right," said Sharpay as Gabriella. "Let me just warn you in advance that this isn't _really_ 80s material. But you all know it anyway."

She was not going to let an opportunity like this pass. There was nothing sadder to her than having to sing with Gabbie's voice, but she was going to. Most importantly she was going to sing to Troy. Because it was cheesy and romantic and she had never thought she would get the chance.

"I am dedicating this to a special Wildcat. Please bear in mind I'm a _little_ drunk." They all chuckled, but uncertainly. A drunk Gabriella? _Gabriella Montez_? Who would've thunk?! "But it's okay because I love you, Troy," she added softly. Sharpay did not even bother looking at her nemesis as the party-goers '_aawed'_. It would only kill the mood.

Chad returned and popped in the CD. Soon, the violin cords of _Iris_ rolled over the silence.

She gripped the microphone in both hands and began without thinking about it any more than she had to.

"_And I'd give up forever to touch you, cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now_…"

It was as she always thought it would be, looking right at him, no syllable leaving her lips without purpose. And soon he was the only person left in the room.

"_And all I can taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life. Cause sooner or later it's over, I just don't want to miss you tonight. And I _don't_ want the world to see me_…"

She burst out dramatically and was only vaguely aware of the cheers now.

"_Cause I don't think that they'd understand! When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am_…"

By the end of the song Sharpay knew she meant what she had said. She loved him, she had loved him, she would love him, whether or not she was with him, and long after the spell had died…

**Gabriella**

Gabriella tore upstairs blindly. It was not the images that evoked her tears. There was no need to cry at the sight of Troy jumping on stage and kissing _her_. That would just be stupid.

No. What upset her was the reality. Gabriella would never have had the guts or the audacity to get on stage and sing for him. And she always thought Troy would die of embarrassment if she did something that corny. But everything little thing Sharpay did Troy seemed to love. The truth was he was _not_ kissing her. He was kissing Sharpay. He wanted Sharpay. He just didn't know it.

She found Chad's bedroom, shut the door and flung herself on his bed.

What if he was falling in love all over again? But with Sharpay. Would he be disappointed when they got back in their bodies? _If_ they got back in their bodies?

Or perhaps she was overreacting. The fruit punch she drank was obviously not just punch because she was buzzing all over. She felt giddy and couldn't seem to control her own sobs.

She barely heard Ryan enter the room.

"Shar?" She felt the dip of his weight on the end of the bed. She exhaled hard. Just him there, his voice, calmed her a little. "You okay?" A fresh sob overwhelmed her.

"D-do I look like I'm okay? I don't just cry for the fun of it, you know!" Although it _was_ kind of fun. Or rather relieving. It was nice to be sad and self-pitying for a bit.

"_All right, all right_," he soothed and moved further up the bed. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Is it Troyboy?"

"_Who else_? He doesn't love me," she whined irrationally.

"_Sharpay_," he said gently. "It took you _this_ long to figure that out?"

She glared at him. "That's not a very helpful response."

"Honesty is always helpful." He rubbed her shoulder a little.

She sighed and flopped back down on Chad's pillow.

"What's so great about him anyway? Seriously."

Gabriella as Sharpay shook her head. "He's just…a great guy."

"I'm a great guy!" he exclaimed suddenly. "You don't see Gabriella fawning over _me_."

She laughed a little. All this irony was killing her.

"I mean," he continued, "is it really _Troy_ you're after? Or the image?"

She shrugged. "What does it matter? He's just _Troy_. Why do _you_ like Gabriella? Because she's beautiful?"

He took his hand off her shoulder and she instantly felt colder.

"Because she's beautiful and she doesn't _know_ it. She doesn't use her looks to get her places, or as an excuse to treat people like crap. And she's sweet and warm and…perfect."

Gabriella as Sharpay smiled and turned slowly onto her back.

"No, Ryan," she said wryly. "_She's not_."

Ryan stared at Chad's wall, covered in basketball posters.

"Well, she's pretty close to me. And I'm sorry that I've been reduced to talking like a lovesick moron, but it is what it is." He scratched his head absently. "No wonder she'll never look at me."

Gabbie sat up hastily. "But she _does_ look at you!"

She might, but she doesn't actually _see_ me. Not with Troy's pearly whites blinding her."

Gabriella was starting to feel confused. Suddenly there were all these things she wanted to say but couldn't, both because she was Sharpay _and_ because she was Gabriella. It was so muddled. And she _never_ felt muddled. Must have been the punch.

"_Ryan_…" she touched his shoulder hesitantly. "you are closer to perfect than Gabriella could ever be."

"You have to say that. You're my sister."

Gabriella was more than a little relieved when Chad stumbled in with Taylor. She removed her hand from Ryan's shoulder hastily.

"Uh…excusez _moi_," he said in the most unconvincing French accent she had ever heard. "This is _my_ room. There's a sign on the door."

"Sorry." Ryan stood hastily.

Gabbie rolled her eyes and followed him out of the room. She patted Taylor's shoulder as they walked past each other.

"Stay safe, you guys," she murmured. "_Stay safe_."

"Um…_thanks_?" said Taylor, closing the door on them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Finally the new love interest shall appear! Please review. You guys been quiet lately! Oh, and there's a Borat reference in here. Pretty obvious when you see it but I'm in a silly mood so whateva!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned High School Musical I wouldn't be here writing this, would I? I'd be rubbing shoulders with young, hot Hollywood, acting like I deserve an Oscar and taking advantage of a drunk Zac Efron. Hee hee hee…kidding! Hee hee hee…**_**sort of**_

**Oh, and I didn't write "Pour Some Suga On Me" either. That's Def Leppard! Hot sleazy track that one…**

**Chapter 9**

**Michael and Lola**

**Sharpay**

After a few more cups of suspicious punch, Sharpay's romantic mood had died.

She was now belting out _Living On A Prayer_ with Ian (dressed as Freddy Mercury unfortunately) while Troy watched her from the other side of the room. Chad had disappeared. Probably off to make sexy time with Taylor.

The music faded, and the Janet Jacksons, Eddie Murphys and Madonnas roared in drunken encouragement.

"_All right, people_." Sharpay's voice was unnecessarily loud considering she had a microphone but she could no longer control the pitch of it. This level of intoxication was not a norm for her, but she was safely hidden behind her Gabbie mask, so it didn't really matter. "Who's up for _Thriller_?"

The cheers soon turned to boos when Troy quickly swept her off the stage.

She hooked her arms around his neck as he carried her into the dining area across the hall, the only room not packed with people.

It was modern/rustic, like the rest of the house, with a rectangular glass table, wrought-iron chairs and hardwood floors.

"Oh, come on, Troy!" she said as he set her down on a perch under the window. "They _love_ me in there!"

"Of course, they do," he said, reaching behind her to open the large square glass. "But I think you need some fresh air now."

She shook her head fervently. "_Nope_. I don't _need_ fresh air. I don't need to breathe or _anything_ because I'm perfect! Perfect Gabriella. Accessories sold _separately_."

She drew his face to hers and pecked him on the lips.

He grinned uncertainly. "You okay, Gabs? You seem…_different_ lately. Or is it just that you're drunk?"

Sharpay tilted her head. "I'm not drunk enough! Oh!" She gasped and pointed at the doorway which Ryan and Gabriella were walking past. "Look it, Troy! It's _Sharpay_. My gorgeous best friend, Sharpay."

She hopped off the perch and ran out of the dining room. He tried to follow her but was intercepted on the way out by Mimi Rogers in a ghastly pink cardigan and curly hair.

"_Shar_," she said sweetly, grabbing hold of her own body and turning herself around. "Where're you _going_?"

She could see Gabriella's annoyance emanating from her eyes.

"Ryan and I are going _home_. Are you _drunk_?" she added.

"Are _you_?"

Gabriella took a step forward and hissed in her ear: "Sharpay! _What_ did I say about you making a fool out of me?"

"You _said_…" she whispered back, "you were going to make sure I _didn't_. And you _fai-led_! Ha ha…"

Gabriella groaned and marched over to Ryan.

"Gabriella's had too much punch," she muttered.

"I can _hear you_!" she sang. "Don't think I can't!"

Gabbie glanced back. "I better stay here. Look after her."

Ryan's eyes widened. "_Look after her_?"

She nodded. "Ms. Darbus is always going on about us being friends and whatnot. I figure I should make the effort."

He still looked unconvinced. "Well, do you want me to stay and…and _help_? I could help. I could help her."

"Nope. It'll be fine."

He nodded slowly. "'Kay. Have a good night. Love you." He pecked Gabriella as Sharpay's cheek.

"Love you, too, Ry!" Sharpay called as he left and giggled at his expression.

Gabriella proceeded to shake her fervently, telling her to pull it together before she doused her with ice water.

But Sharpay was barely listening. Her body was swaying helplessly to the new track, the familiar bass of Def Leppard.

"_Step inside, walk this way. You and me, babe, hey, hey_!"

Gabriella stopped her as she headed for the living room.

"Don't even _think_ about, Sharpay."

She grinned. "_Gabriella_, you can watch or come with me, but you sure as hell aren't going to stop me!"

Gabbie saw in her eyes that nothing could be more true and so she merely groaned and allowed Sharpay to drag her along.

Of all the crazy things the East High students had expected from Chad's party, none had foreseen this. It had to be the late hour, or the magic fruit punch. But there was no way Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans were getting down to _Pour Some Suga On Me_, a song most popular among the strip club crowd. It simply _couldn't_ be. And yet it was. They even seemed to be…having fun?

"_Pour some suga on meeeee_!" Sharpay hollered. She grabbed Gabbie's hands and moved her arms about encouragingly, as one would a baby that is enjoying a piece of music but doesn't quite know what to do except bop up and down.

Sharpay laughed at the horrified expression being displayed on her own face. People were crowding, cheering, guys and girls practicing that poor excuse for a dance they called "bump and grind."

"_Love is like a bomb, baby, c'mon get it on," _Sharpay continued with the track, prowling around Gabriella._ "Livin' like a lover with a radar phone! Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp Demolition woman, can I be your man?"_

Troy, Chad and Taylor stood in the doorway, come to see what the new commotion was and just as shocked as everyone else.

"Don't act like you don't know the words, _Gabriella_!" No one but Gabbie heard the challenge and reluctantly she began to sing along.

"_Razzle 'n' a dazzle 'n' a flash a little light, television lover, baby, go all night. Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet, little miss ah innocent sugar me, yeah!" _Gabriella began to laugh, and Sharpay did, too, forgetting for a minute who she was laughing with.

"_HEY! C'mon, take a bottle, shake it up! Break the bubble, break it up!" _ As if in some R-Rated musical, everyone seemed to know the words now.

Gabriella as Sharpay spun on her heel and did some weird wiggle. Even through her drunkenness Sharpay had to suppress a grimace. At least she was trying.

"_POUR SOME SUGA ON ME! Ooh, in the name of love…"_

As she grabbed Gabbie's hand and spun her, Sharpay thought this was truly bizarre. One might look at them and think they were actually friends, or something just as laughable.

"_POUR SOME SUGA ON ME! C'mon fire me up. POUR SOME SUGA ON ME! Oh, I can't get en-"_

Abruptly the music was cut. But Sharpay was still going.

"_I'm hot, sticky sweet! From my head to my feet, _yeah!"

She was far too tipsy to notice that everyone had gone quiet, that some were sidling quickly out of the house, that Gabriella in her body was tapping her shoulder insistently, and that there was a rather imposing man standing right behind her.

**Gabriella**

Gabriella watched in quiet frustration as the Sharpay in her body swayed about, totally oblivious to the guy that had just appeared on stage, holding the unplugged stereo system's cord.

"_Pour some suga on m_- what? _What's the problem_?" Sharpay turned abruptly and started. "_Oh_." She grinned. "_Hey_."

The man shook his head grimly and grabbed a microphone.

"Anybody who _doesn't_ live here, or want me to call their parents, should leave." The tone of his voice was level, gravelly, full of grown-up authority. Gabriella had seen Chad's dad at basketball games and this definitely was not him. But he had that you-are-in-so-much-trouble look about him all the same. "_Now_ would be good."

They did not need telling twice. All at once the underage drinkers surged out of the house, pushing Chad and Troy out of sight. Gabbie and Sharpay were moving off stage when he called over the murmurs:

"You, _stay_." They weren't sure exactly who he was talking to or why so they both stopped.

"Do you _know_ him?" Sharpay hissed.

Gabriella shook her head. "Do you?"

She shrugged. "Looks like somebody my dad would play golf with but no."

He was very tall, probably six foot something, his hair cut short and gray, his eyes round and bright blue, set in a slightly drooping face. He reminded Gabriella of a bull dog puppy her cousin had once owned.

As the house emptied, Chad reappeared, looking perfectly guilty and conspicuous in his headdress.

"Hey, Mr. Alman," he said uneasily.

The Mr. Alman guy folded his arms across his chest, apparently not in such a friendly mood.

"Where _exactly_ are your parents, Chad?" he inquired in his smoker's voice. "I know they can't be here, unless they're tied up in the basement, because there is no way in _hell_ they would be okay with this."

Gabriella could almost see the lie forming in his mind. "They uh…they went to Mexico."

"Mexico, huh?"

"_No-o_!" Sharpay exclaimed before Gabriella could stop her. "They're not in Mexico, _silly_!" They're at _Lava Springs_. My- well, _her_ parents' resort." She jerked a thumb back at Gabriella.

Mr. Alman simply glanced at her before turning on Sharpay. "You're Lola Montez's daughter, aren't you?"

"Hm?" Gabriella prodded Sharpay in the back. "Oh…yeah. _Right_. I am. How do you know my mum? And are you Chad's uncle or something?"

"I'm on the PTA with her. I'm Chad's neighbour. And you're drunk."

"_Yep_."

"And does your mother know you're here?" 

Gabriella refrained from stepping in. Of course, Mrs. Montez _didn't_ know. From what Sharpay had told her, she was _supposed_ to be spending the night at Kelsi's, and Kelsi was at home with the phone in her lap, ready to pass the lie on to Mrs. Montez.

She immediately felt guilty, though it wasn't even her fault in the first place. What was it to _Mr. Alman_ anyway? It wasn't like he was her dad or anything.

"All right," he sighed. "I'm taking you home. _You_," he pointed at Chad, "are going to stay here and clean up."

He began to usher Sharpay away and Gabriella piped up hastily:

"Wait! What about me? I-I'm Gabriella's best friend. I need a ride home, too."

Chad was looking at her like she was insane, but said nothing as he grumpily picked up cups and empty chip packets on his own. Gabriella had no idea why, but something in her gut was telling her _not_ to leave Sharpay and this Mr. Alman person alone with her mother for longer than she had to.

And so they made the silent journey home, Gabbie and Sharpay glaring at each other haughtily in the back seat.

"_Madonna_," said Sharpay when they reached the house. "That is _so_ passé."

"_Shut up_."

They pulled up into the driveway and the girls reluctantly clambered out of the car. They followed Mr. Alman up to the house. All the lights were out and Gabriella dreaded to think what her mother would do when she found out where her body had really been.

It took five minutes of knocking before Ms. Montez finally came down in her blue nightgown, looking very surprised to see them. Gabriella's heart swelled as she peeked at her from behind Alman's broad back. She was really starting to miss her.

"Is this your Madonna impersonator?" He sounded a lot less stern now.

Mrs. Montez's smile instantly faded when she spotted Sharpay, who she assumed, of course, was Gabriella.

"_Gabbie_? What on _Earth_ are you doing dressed like that?"

Mr. Alman stepped aside for Sharpay.

"I uh…I was kind of at a costume party."

Mrs. Montez shifted her weight onto her other leg, a typical sign of motherly pissed-offness.

"_Really_? And at one point did you decide to go to this _party_? While you were at Kelsi's house? Or did you not even go over there?"

"I didn't go," she mumbled.

Gabriella had never seen her mother so furious, and this was obviously just her suppressed anger considering the present company.

"In that case you lied to me. And in that case _you_ are in _a lot_ of trouble, Gabriella Montez."

Both girls grimaced.

Mrs. Montez exhaled and shook her head. She turned her focus up to Mr. Alman and almost immediately the expression softened. "Well…thank you, Michael. For bringing her back."

Sharpay and Gabbie turned to each other. "_Michael_?" they mouthed incredulously.

"Would you um…like to come in? For a minute."

Gabriella's eyes bulged. "No!" All three turned to stare at her. "I mean…I-I've got to get home. My parents are waiting."

Michael Alman gave a small, wry smile. "I'm sure they can wait another five minutes."

Her mouth dropped open. Who the hell did he think he was?

Her mother and Michael Alman moved up the hallway together. Gabriella made to follow but Sharpay grabbed her hand and dragged her to the foot of the stairs. They were standing, standing and talking. Talking in low voices. Was it the punch playing tricks on her or did Mrs. Montez look a little flushed? It had to be the punch.

Gabbie felt Sharpay nudge her in the side but it took a few tries before she finally paid attention.

"What?" Gabbie scowled. "_Don't_ give me that look."

Sharpay grinned. "What look?"

"That _conspiracy_ look. Like something's going on here. _Nothing's_ going on here."

She shrugged. "If you say so."

"Yeah, I do say so!"

"All right, all right! _Chillax_ already.

My mother _doesn't_ date. Mums don't date."

"Okay. "

"Okay?"

"_Okay_."

There was a moment of silence as they watched the pair.

"But if she did, he'd be a pretty good candidate."

"Sharpay!"

"All right, Sharpay." Mr. Alman was strolling towards her. His puppy dog face looked borderline jovial now. "It's way past late. Let's get you home."

Gabriella nodded silently, warily as they began to leave.

Mrs. Montez watched them from the doorway. Gabriella hopped into the backseat again and glared at Michael Alman as he waved goodbye to her mother.

"Goodnight, Micheal."

"Goodnight, Lola."

Gabriella bit her lip hard to suppress a scream. _LOLA_?!

**Author's Note: So there's the love interest! Hope everybody likes him coz he'll be a fairly significant character from now on! Suggestions welcome, reviews appreciated…**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! School. You know the story. The Darbus will make an appearance! Coz she started this whole crazy thing after all! Keep reading and hopefully enjoying! **

**Chapter 10 **

**Selfless Love**

**Sharpay**

Sharpay had a plan. And for the first time in a long time, she was on the side of good. Every night she went to sleep, Shar thought of Mrs. Montez, sitting downstairs, alone, watching CNN, alone, and then going to bed, _alone_. It just didn't seem right! If "Lola" was _her_ mum she would do anything she could to make the woman happy. As it were, Mrs. Montez _was_ her mum, therefore it was her responsibility to ensure her happiness, before all her hormones dried up and she became a sad old spinster.

While she was under house arrest, i.e grounded, Sharpay took the opportunity to dig up dirt on Michael Alman. He was forty-five, a mere five years Mrs. Montez's senior, he was on the PTA with her, and that would mean he had a daughter. Her name was Marie and she was a year below Sharpay. Mr. Alman was a widower which was _brilliant_. Well, not brilliant _per se_. Not for his dead wife, at least. But definitely good for Mrs. Montez!

Sharpay had never heard of Marie in school which was either a good thing for a bad thing. She could be a reclusive goth freak, or one of those "nice" ugly girls. She sought her out in the cafeteria last Monday and was glad to find she was neither. Marie was plumpish, with large blue puppy eyes like Mr. Alman and curly blonde hair. She had the look about her of someone who was always thinking.

"Hi," she said, trying to be as open with her body language as possible. If Gabriella was to have a stepsister they should really get off to the best start possible. "You're Marie Alman, right?" She seemed to hang out with all the oddballs that were not nerdy enough to be nerds but not cool enough to be with the in-crowd either.

"Hey." Apparently the husky voice wasn't caused by smoking because Marie had it, too. "Gabriella Montez?"

"What? Oh! Right! _Gabriella_. I almost forgot." She giggled sweetly. Marie looked uncertain. "I hear you've got a band going?" she dived right in.

She nodded. "Me, Ronnie and Kim." She gestured to the two other girls, a red-head and a black girl with curly hair. They waved.

"You any good?"

"We like to think so!" she laughed.

Sharpay as Gabriella grinned. "Very cool. Because I am in _desperate_ need of a band…"

Sharpay flopped down next to Troy five minutes later.

He rubbed the small of her back a little. "What were you up to over there?" he asked.

She smiled. "Well, I'm having a little party of my own…"

But she was not having a party. Not yet at least. It was all part of Sharpay's elaborate scheme. She was playing Cupid and it was pretty damn fun…

"What party?" But Mrs. Montez was not so receptive. "You're not having a party."

"But it's a _fundraiser_!"

Sharpay had it all plotted out. She was organizing an alcohol-free social at her house, which the Drama Club and whoever else they wanted to bring could attend. They would be charged at the door and there would be "bouncers" by the backyard, keeping out gatecrashers. She had run it by Ms. Darbus as it was in aid of the department she ran. At the heart of everything, Mrs. Montez and Mr. Alman would be spending time together. Because Sharpay as Gabriella would need to go over to the Alman's every other day to hear "The Hedlunds" play and pick their best songs for the afternoon. _Therefore_ it would only be polite for Mrs. Montez to stay a while…

"I don't care," her mother said firmly, presenting Sharpay with a ham and cheese sandwich. "Your name is not even going to be _mentioned_ in the same sentence as 'party' after that stunt you pulled."

"But, Mum, it was _one time_!" She was almost accustomed to Gabriella's squeaky whine. "All right, I made a _huge_ mistake. It's just that, everybody else was going and I don't usually go to parties because _you_ never let me! And I've never really been to any costume parties with my friends because…we move around too much!" She knew that last addition had dented Mrs. Montez's armor. "It'll _never_ happen again. And I've been getting _such_ good grades!"

Well actually, Sharpay hadn't been getting good grades. _Gabriella_ had. They had been doing each other's homework assignments and then swapping, the closest they had ever been to working together. Sharpay was stuck on her average Bs (sometimes) and Cs (most of the time) with the very rare A. But it felt really good to get back a paper and see a gleeful A+. Even if it wasn't her own.

Mrs. Montez sat down reluctantly at the table, across from her. "I don't know, Gabriella. Fund-raisers are a big undertaking."

"Well, not if I have a few members of the _PTA_ on my side. And I've already organized a band. It's an all-girl group. So you don't have to worry about weird, shirtless, beer-guzzling head-bangers."

She smiled a little. "Well, you know how I feel about those weird, shirtless, beer-guzzling head-bangers. So who _is_ in this group?"

She tried not to smile too coyly. "Interestingly enough, Marie Alman is the lead singer."

Mrs. Montez hesitated. "Marie…Alman? As in…_Michael_ Alman's daughter?"

"The very one! Funny, huh?"

She seemed to be fighting a grin very hard. "Yes. Very funny. _Ha ha_." She stood hastily and busied herself doing nothing about the kitchen.

Sharpay knew Gabriella wouldn't be happy about this. She would probably hate her even more for it, in fact. But that wasn't anything to her. For rest of the day Mrs. Montez could not seem to stop humming. So Shar knew she had done good.

**Gabriella**

"_And I've never had someone, that knows me like you do, the way you do…and I've never had someone, as good for me as you, no one like you…so lonely before, I finally found…what I've been looking for…"_

Gabriella thought her heart might burst as she looked at Ryan, sandy-blonde hair tousled, large blue eyes on the sheet music in his hands, lips parted as he sang in a way that nearly pushed her to tears.

"So what do you think?" he asked after a moment of silence. "Anywhere near as good as Troy?" They sat facing each other, cross-legged on the front lawn of the Evans' house. It was a warm day. She had forgotten the date, the time, the year…

_And I've never had someone_…"_Hm_?" The words still reverberated in her head, making it hard for her to form a thought. "Oh." She smiled. "_Better_." _That knows me like you do…_

_No one like you_…"You think so?" _I finally found…_

"I do." _What I've been looking for…what I've _really_ been looking for. _"Kiss me," the words fell from her mouth before she could stop them.

Ryan's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

She leaned forward without another word and as her lips grazed against his and they breathed the same breath, Gabbie wondered how she had ever lived so long without kissing him…

"Sharpay? Shar? He-lloooo! _Sharpay_!"

"I'm not Sharpay!" Gabriella shrieked before she could stop herself. Her eyes flew open to see Ryan peering over her.

"Then who are you?"

Gabriella gaped. "I-I'm…_Sharpay_. Of course. Who else would I be?"

Ryan shook his head and hopped off the bed. "Well, get up then! We've gotta get ready for school…"

Gabriella put on Sharpay's blue skirt, white blouse, glittery blue heels, and walked downstairs, in a daze. What the _freak_ was that?!

Even though Ryan had been the one to wake her up she got downstairs first and found Mrs. Evans at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and poring over a newspaper. She had not seen the woman since all of Monday. She couldn't understand how it was possible to not see your mother for the whole day, when she was in _the same house_.

"_Morning_, Sharpay."

"_What_? Oh. Morning. Mother." She sat down and poured herself some muesli. She didn't know how much longer she could eat this tree bark.

"So nice of that Mr. Alman to bring you home," were the next words to come coyly out of her mouth.

She nodded reluctantly.

"Bit of a dish, wasn't he?" she said, not looking up.

Gabriella grimaced. "No comment. On second thoughts, I _have_ a comment. You're _married_."

"Like that's ever stopped her." It was Ryan, dressed in a white shirt and…_oh God_…suede, aquamarine trousers. Oh, for the love of color co-ordination! Gabriella as Sharpay stared down into her bowl as he entered, not because of the horror that was his outfit, but because her dream still lingered with painful clarity. It had been so _real_, his lips against hers, soft and warm, his hand on the small of her back, and the smell of that cologne he always used…

"Good morning, _Ducky_," said Mrs. Evans wryly.

"Morning, mum." Ugh! How could she ever want to make out with someone nicknamed _Ducky_?

But he had been so perfect in her dream, messy and cute and safe…

After a silent breakfast with Mrs. Evans, Gabbie picked up the keys of Sharpay's pink convertible and Ryan followed her out into the foyer.

As they headed for the door Gabbie stopped in her tracks abruptly. Ryan followed suit.

"What?" he asked. Without a word she snatched the blue beret off his head and grabbed at his shirt, untucking it.

"What are you doing?" Ryan exclaimed as she messed up his hair. "This is like…a _wardrobe malfunction_. Except on purpose!"

"_I know_. Isn't it totally hetero?" She unbuttoned the collar and rolled up the sleeves swiftly. "Gabriella would love it."

His expression changed with incredible swiftness. "You really think so?"

She smiled a little. "_I do._"

"Shar," he said slowly. "This is _not_ like you."

"What? Trying to help my brother land the love of his life is uncharacteristic?"

He paused. "Yeah, pretty much."

She giggled but felt a twinge of guilt all the same. Wasn't she giving him false hope? And wasn't it even crueler because it was coming from _her_? Yes. But there was no point doing a 180 degree turn now. And anyway, he needed to get out from under Sharpay's thumb! If she really loved Ryan she would let him be _him_. Because there was a whole other side to this guy without Sharpay, people just hadn't gotten to see it yet. And he did look really…

Gabriella blinked and opened the door hastily. "Let's go. We're going to be late." For a moment she had fallen back into her dream. And that was something she did _not_ want to do.

**Ms. Darbus **

It had happened. She knew it had! She was cynical at first, even after the non-existent earthquake the girls seemed to experience. Ms. Darbus had watched Sharpay and Gabriella for the past few days, whenever they were in classes together. There were occasions when the blonde would answer a question that, with all due respect, the real Sharpay simply _could not_ answer. And she sometimes espied Gabriella walking with a ridiculous sway of her hips. Besides all that "Gabbie" had pitched the fund-raising idea to her that afternoon and she could almost _see_ Sharpay's party-planning glee shining through.

_By George! _Trulyincredible. And she wasn't even much of a believer in the supernatural.

Now, how did that fortune go? According to Lu-Ling…_a journey soon begins, the prize reflected in another's eyes. When what you see is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back…_

Ah, _that_ was the rub. _Selfless love_. She snorted quietly to herself as she cleared up her desk for the day. It would take more than body-swapping to get Sharpay and Gabbie to even almost like each other.

And as the brilliant teacher she was, Ms. Darbus was already cooking up a plan to get the two to finally bury the hatchet. Before they swung it in the wrong direction and took of somebody else's head…

**Author's Note: Girl power! Let's try and get Shar and Gabs to Work, Work, WORK IT OUT! Reviews appreciated mucho.**

**I LOVE RENT! Roger is FINE! Capital F-I-N-E. Gawd! Nothing gets me like wavy hair, a broody demeanour and a leather jacket! Sorry. **_**Just**_** watched it. Had to get that out. **

**GBU (God Bless U!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I have returned from the void of the writer's block! Sorry it was practically on hiatus. It took me a week just to get this out. Hope my reviewers haven't given up on me! But even if they have, I must persevere! **

**Anywho! This chappie continues from where Chapter 10 left off, so it's a continuation of the day. Just thought I'd clear that up to help clear potential confusion. **

**There's a little wink-wink to a GREAT fic, Take Me, Baby, Or Leave Me, in which Ms. Darbus stages a production of RENT in East High. I can't tell you to check it out. She's got enough fooking reviews already! **

**Chapter 11**

**Nothing I Wouldn't Do**

**Sharpay**

"What is it you like about Sharpay?"

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Because I wanna know. You seem to have…_taken a shine_ to her lately or something. I'm just trying to figure out what you see in her that I don't."

Sharpay as Gabriella tried not to hold her breath as Troy contemplated. He was sitting by her desk, fiddling pensively with her fingers, oblivious to the buzzing of the class around them.

Troy shrugged after a while and she was tempted to slap him upside his dumb gorgeous head. But then he spoke: "She's just…_crazy_." He did not look her in the eyes. "Crazy in that good kind of way, you know? She's not afraid to be…a complete _bitch. _When she's feeling something you know it. She doesn't pretend to be anything other than what she is. And believe it or not," he laughed a little, "she _is_ kind of smart. I think she got ninety percent of the brains between herself and Ryan."

Sharpay's face fell. She was _this close_ to dragging him into a lusty, smothering kiss. Everything he said about her was just so…

But being the dumbass pretty boy he was, he just _had_ to ruin the moment by slagging off her brother. Now Sharpay knew Troy harbored a mild contempt for Ryan. Most of the heterosexual meatheads in East High did. And she could always get past it, because she never actually heard the words coming from him.

But now she was left with no choice but to defend her brother. She had been doing so all her life and she was not about to stop. Not even for Troy.

"What the hell did he ever do to you?" Sharpay went straight for his throat.

Troy's eyes widened. "_What_?"

"You _heard me_." She pulled her hand away from his. "What did Ryan do to deserve all your stupid jibes? Does every guy that takes the time to pick up a _book_ instead of a basketball have to be the victim of your over-inflated machismo?"

Troy looked as if he had been slapped. "What? _No_. _Jeez_, Gabbie, I didn't think you felt so strongly about this."

"Well, I do!" She ignored his helpless blue puppy eyes.

Troy laughed incredulously. "But it's just Ryan Evans!"

And in a swift dramatic movement, Sharpay as Gabriella was on her feet, glaring down upon him.

"_Just_ Ryan Evans, huh? Just the prissy little ballerina with no _worth_, huh?" She poked his chest.

"Gabriella, I wasn't trying to upset you." Troy lowered his voice hastily. Chad was glancing at them from where he sat talking to Zeke and Taylor.  
"Well, you did!" Sharpay was not so big on discretion. "How can you look into someone's eyes and smile, then backbite when they're gone?" Sharpay was horrified to realize she was getting tearful.

"I don't backbite!"

She scoffed. "_Please_. You never say any of this stuff to Ryan's face. I bet you save it all for your _slumber parties_ at Chad's house. And then you have the nerve to masquerade as Sharpay's _friend_."

She suppressed laughter now, through her misty eyes. If Troy knew it was _her_ speaking, Princess of Gossip as well as Ice, he would call her a hypocrite, and rightly so. But as it were she was Gabriella, and so her self-righteous anger was totally justified.

"You must bitch about Sharpay, too," she sniffed. "When she's not around."

There was a sudden change in Troy's expression. "I'd _never_ say anything bad about Sharpay behind her back. I told you she's been a lot cooler the last few weeks. Maybe just with me, I don't know."

She leered. "_So what_? Now you think she's Saint Sharpay or something?"

"_No_. I wouldn't want her to be a saint."

She tilted her head. "You mean you _like_ her as a sparkling, soulless bitch?"

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa_…" he was grinning uncertainly. "Who was the one going on about backbiting?"

Sharpay snorted and shook her head. "Just shut up about, Ryan, okay?"

"_I will_," he said in a way that would make her forgive him of anything. "I'm sorry." He seized her hand again, and she knew that Troy had never looked at Gabriella this way. Even if he thought she was Gabriella.

And suddenly the moment was restored. But a glimpse of glittery blue distracted her and she turned instinctively. Sharpay was not focusing on herself for once (although she did look rather _fetch_), but on Ryan; shirt untucked, hair a mess, and…NO HAT?! What had she _done_ to him?!

Troy traced her gaze. "Wow," he murmured. "Ryan's not wearing a hat."

She resisted a wry, "_Is that a fact_?"

Instead she murmured: "I'll be right back…"

Gabriella attacked first as she approached. "You're throwing a party at m- _your_ house?"

"Yep," she said shortly, looking Ryan up and down. "Ms. Darbus gave me the go-ahead."

Gabriella put a hand on her hip. "I also hear that Marie _Alman_ is going to be at this party?"

"Yeah." She grinned slyly. "She's got a great band going. And a really supportive dad…"

"Great idea, Gabriella," Ryan gushed before the real Gabriella could respond. "You're furthering the Drama Department _and_ you get to have a cool party at the same time. _Totally_ killing two birds with one stone- for lack of a more original analogy. And who knows?" he continued mindlessly. "With enough money we could stage our very own production of RENT!"

Sharpay would have laughed just then as Ryan's babble ceased. She could almost hear him thinking, 'God, _could I _be_ any more gay_?!" But her focus was on his decimated outfit which was no laughing matter. In all their years of siblinghood Sharpay had _never_ let Ryan out of the house looking anything less than immaculate. If Gabriella was going to start messing with her life, things would get very ugly, very fast…

**Gabriella**

"We'll talk later," Sharpay as Gabriella said with a decisive glance at Ryan.

"_Sure_," Gabriella as Sharpay gave a bright fake smile and watched herself flip her hair and walk away. She shuddered. Forget Ryan's appearance! Sharpay was up to something. And she feared that something had everything to do with her mother and Mr. Alman. Hadn't the biatch understood her well enough the first time?

Throughout the homeroom notices Gabriella was sullen. All right. She had to admit it was a pretty good idea. She probably wouldn't have bothered with it herself. But there were _no_ good intentions in Sharpay Evans' plans! She was taking some sick glee in trying to pair off a woman who was perfectly happy already. Gabbie's brain began to work a mile a minute as she tried to dredge up ways to kill this fundraiser. It would be difficult if the Head of the Drama Department was backing it.

The bell rang shrilly and there was an eager rush out of the class. Ryan went on ahead of her and on Gabbie's way out Ms. Darbus called:

"Er…_Sharpay_?" She paused only briefly before turning. "Yes, Ms. Darbus?"

The wispy blonde professor, draped in a red and gold shawl that day, clasped her hands together and gave Gabriella a bit of a strange look. "Well, as you know, Ms. Evans, _Gabriella Montez _will be hosting a fundraiser at her house. Now I understand Mrs. Montez is on the PTA, therefore she'll be very supportive, but I don't think it will do any harm for you to lend _your_ assistance, as well. You are reputed for being _quite_ the party planner. Now before you protest, I really think this will be a good opportunity for you and Sharpay to finally-"

"I'll do it."

Ms. Darbus blinked. "You will?"

"Yes," said Gabriella quickly. "I will do it. I will…lend my assistance."

"Ah!" Ms. Darbus trilled, obviously pleased. "_Wonderful_. You two will get on splendidly, I'm sure."

Gabbie suppressed a wry chuckle. "Yes. _Splendidly_."

Gabriella managed to avoid Sharpay until the cafeteria. She and Ryan talked over fruit cups while her former clique, Chad, Zeke, Jason, Kelsi and Taylor communed at the 'jock table' below, chatting unknowingly to Sharpay. It suddenly seemed so ridiculous for them to claim that table now that _she_ wasn't sitting at it. Was it possible nothing had really changed in East High, and she just never noticed?

Gabbie laughed as Ryan recounted his botched Biology prac, but it was forced. Their chatter was suddenly a lot less comfortable for her. _Gosh darn it_, it was just a dream! But she felt she was still trapped in it. Or maybe _trapped_ was not the word…

"Hullo? _Sharpay_!"

She started with surprise. "_What_?" she protested. "What are you screaming for?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Are you even listening to me?"

She nodded. "_Sure_."

"But you're not looking at me."

"I am!"

"Your staring at my forehead."

"Well…" she went on the defensive, "why not? Can't I listen while admiring your eyebrows at the same time?"

Ryan blinked. "O-kay."

Gabriella nodded indignantly and looked away. She _had_ been staring at his forehead. She had been staring at his forehead because she could not look into his eyes. She could not look into his eyes because every time she did so Gabbie went all soft and warm inside, like a marshmallow over the fire. She had tried and tried throughout the day to look at him squarely, steeling herself, but every time it had the same effect. Damn those blue eyes! Gabbie exhaled vehemently. She needed to get out of this body and away from him, before…

"Sharpay! Hi," Gabbie looked up to see herself in that bright yellow sundress she bought but never wore. "Can we talk now please?" she heard herself ask sweetly. Oh, she _so_ did not sound like that. "In private?"

Gabriella glanced at Ryan, who was staring up at her with thinly veiled adoration. _So sweet_, she thought before Sharpay grabbed her arm and dragged her into a corner of the cafeteria balcony.

"So!" Sharpay hissed. "I hear Darbus wants you to get involved in my fundraiser."

"You hear correctly," she chimed.

Sharpay grimaced at the tone of her own voice. "Look, Montez, If you are planning to ruin this because of some vendetta-"

"Oh, I wouldn't _dream_ of it!" She smiled understatedly. "I'm just going to make sure Mr. Alman isn't getting frisky with _my_ mum."

Sharpay threw her hands up in the air. "_God_, what is _with_ you, Gabriella? Do you _want_ your mother to be miserable??

Gabriella gaped. "She is _not_ miserable! She is perfectly happy with the way things are."

Sharpay shook her head. "Boy! For such a smart girl you sure are _dumb_."

And with that she stomped back down the stairs, leaving a livid Gabriella to return to her table and stare at Ryan's forehead.

**Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! **_**Damn writer's block**_**. I know y'all know what ahm talkin' about! Oh, **_**do**_** review. I shall take it as a sign that you love me as much as I do you. And now I'm talking like someone from a Jane Austen novel. I'll stop. **

**Ciao!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Writer's block is getting me down. Like majorly. But inspiration has come a-knocking on my door. We are moving towards a climax, people!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HSM. I'll admit that I'm glad I don't. Honestly, I love it with all my heart, but there's no artistic integrity. It can be so commercial. Especially the second mov- but look at me getting all pretentious! I've watched RENT too many times. Never mind. I DO own The Hedlunds, though. Coz I created them. I guess I'm kind of like their manager. This is the longest disclaimer ever… **

**Chapter 12**

**The Great Conductor**

**Sharpay**

"Do I look all right, Gabriella? Not that it matters, of course. But do I?"

"For the thousandth time, you look _fine_. You look fine with capital letters and an exclamation point."

"_Okay_. You sure?"

"Mum!"

Despite the exasperated tone, Sharpay thought it all very sweet. She had been requested to critique Mrs. Montez's outfit choices. So far she had gone through five. She looked pretty in all of them but the woman could not be satisfied. It was like she _wanted_ Sharpay to tell her she looked hideous.

"I look like an ogre." She observed herself from all angles in the full-length mirror. Ensemble #6 was a light green sweater and black skirt, with little black boots recommended by her daughter until further notice. "A hideous ogre."

"You _don't_."

"I do. The skirt makes my butt look big and my hair is all-"

Sharpay turned her round firmly so that they were face-to-face. "You-look-_great_. You're a hot sexy latina mama, all right?" Mrs. Montez laughed nervously in response. "Besides…you'll only see him for like twenty minutes."

"See who?"

"_See who_." She chuckled wryly. "Mr. Alman, that's who!"

Mrs. Montez suddenly looked like she had been caught at the scene of a crime. "Gabriella, I am _not_ getting dressed up for Mr. Alman. I'm not getting dressed up for anybody. I swear."

She smiled. "It's _okay_. I wouldn't mind if you _were_ getting dressed up for somebody. Certainly not for Mr. Alman."

"You wouldn't?"

"_Nope_." She brushed imaginary dust of her shoulders and turned her back around. "He's cute for an old dude. And he seems nice. I say he's worth the effort."

A small smile began to light up her anxious reflection. "You know, you're…_different_ of late, Gabriella. Your attitude."

She made a face. "You think so, huh?" Mrs. Montez nodded and Sharpay grinned discreetly. "So do you prefer this Gabbie or the old one?" In other words, did she prefer Gabriella or Sharpay.

She beamed her magical supermum beam. "I love you, whoever you chose to be."

A smirk played on her lips. She _so_ preferred Sharpay.

"Well, let's get going. We don't want to keep the Almans waiting…"

**Gabriella**

"Ryan, you _cannot_ come with me to the Alman's!"

"Why not?"

"You're not involved in the fundraiser."

"I could be. I _should_ be. I'm half of the Drama Club, aren't I? The Drama King?"

"And you want Gabriella to be your _Queen_?" she mocked in her best Sharpaic manner.

"She already is a Queen. Just not mine."

She was so touched by his schmaltzy romanticism that she almost forgot to be ruthless. If only he were more assertive…

Gabriella blinked herself out of the revelry. No. She had a _boyfriend_. A boyfriend who made her _very_ happy.

Seriously. Who _wouldn't_ be happy with Troy? He was so cute and warm and…_stuff_. They didn't exactly have deep, soul-stirring conversations long into the night (that was what Fate had given her Ryan for, wasn't it?), but what they lacked in rhetoric they made up for in hand-holding. What did Troy and Sharpay talk about anyway?

"So can't I come? _Help me_, Sharpay. Help me make Gabriella my Queen!"

She suppressed a laugh at his imploring gaze. "Stop being overdramatic."

He snorted. "Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black then I don't know what is."

Gabbie settled a hand on her hip. "There's only room for _one_ household appliance, Ry. _Sorry_."

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek tentatively. If he knew who she was this would probably cheer him greatly. As it were, she was Sharpay, and the gesture only seemed to make him gloomier.

And so it was with a heavy heart that Gabriella set off to rescue her mother.

**Sharpay **

"_Encore, encore_!"

Sharpay sounded rather lame, cheering all by her lonesome, but she didn't really care.

The Hedlunds were great. They had a cool sixties, early seventies sound that meshed well with Marie's strange voice. She sang in a lilting sort of whisper really. It was nothing to knock Simon Cowell onto his hairy English back, but engaging all the same.

Sharpay stood up from the comfortably shabby couch she had been reclining in.

"You are _so_ hired."

Marie grinned and brushed a curl off her forehead. "Great! So what's our set?"

Sharpay took out her very business-like, glittery magenta party-planning book and began to write down the songs she liked. They were all so damn catchy, she felt spoiled for choice.

Another cause for Sharpay's unusually cheery mood was that Mrs. Montez and Mr. Alman were in the house right now, talking about politics and schools and how there were no cool places for old people like themselves to hang out anymore. She knew this because she had eavesdropped on them while getting soda from the fridge.

Sharpay smiled a little to herself. She was certain she had done the right thing from the moment they shook hands. The way they looked at each other…it made her all warm and fuzzy inside.

Take _that_, GABBIE!

"I am _so_ hungry!" Ronnie exclaimed, stuffing her drumsticks into the pocket of her cargo pants. "I could eat a _bass guitar_."

Kim clutched her instrument protectively. "For the love of God, Marie! Get us something to eat!"

"_All right, all right_, I'm on it."

They strolled out of the garage, over to the house. As Marie turned the door knob, a black SUV crept up into the drive. They all turned to look back.

Sharpay's face fell. She didn't. She _wouldn't_. And yet there was no room for doubt. This was her own mother's car. And out of it climbed her own mother, followed by her own body, in which Gabriella dwelled.

She rolled her eyes as Gabbie strolled towards them, her red heels click-clacking on the pavement.

"_Hey, girls_!" she said sweetly.

Sharpay gritted her teeth. She _so_ never talked like that.

**Gabriella **

Gabbie knew Sharpay that would be ticked off at her for this, and it was physically impossible for her to care less. The Drama Queen had _no_ business pushing other people's mothers into relationships they _clearly_ were not ready for.

Mrs. Evans had jumped at the chance to give her a ride to the house. She was all hot and bothered for Mr. Alman and obviously did not think marriage was any cause for monogamy. This was how a new facet to Gabbie's sabotage was conceived. There could be no better spanner to throw in the works than an attractive, middle-aged society mistress. It reeked of irony that this was Sharpay's own mother and that Gabriella herself was taking on very Sharpaic traits. Although she would be a lot slower to pick this up.

"_Hey, girls_," she squealed as she walked over to them, Mrs. Evans on her heels.

Two of the girls, a pretty African-American with hair reminiscent of Chad's and a red-head with handsome features, waved at her uncertainly. Marie Alman just blinked and the Sharpay in her body scowled.

"I don't remember you being invited. Sharpay."

She beamed. "Aw, I don't need to be _invited_! I'm the co-party planner, aren't I?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Now, now, girls!" Mrs. Evans burst in. She wore a peach empire-line dress Gabbie had picked out for her with gold heels. Very flattering. "There's no need for nastiness!" She extended a hand to Marie. "And you must be Marie. I've heard a lot about you. Oh, I am _loving_ your shirt."

It was a vintage brown T with a fading gold logo. Nothing special. And the look on Marie's face confirmed that she knew a brown-noser when she saw one.

Sharpay looked embarrassed, and Gabriella (forgetting this was _not_ her mother for a moment) felt the same. So she talked.

"Are we going in or what?" she chirped.

Marie shrugged, opened the door, and they filed in after her.

Gabbie's stomach churned at the sound of her mother's sudden burst of laughter. Great. They were_ hanging out. _What could he possibly say that was so hilarious?

They all filled in the kitchen, a comfortably sized room with marble counters and a kitchen island, at which Mrs. Montez and Mr. Alman sat, each resting an arm on the surface. Oh God. They were mirroring.

"More guests," said Marie, barely trying to sound excited. The two turned to them, big cheesy grins on their faces.

"_Sharpay, Mrs. Evans_," Mr. Alman said in his gravelly tones, lighter with laughter. "Good to see you again.

"It's good to see you, too Michael." She strolled over to him and took his hand purposefully, seeming to forget that Mrs. Montez was there.

She reminded her by clearing her throat. "Uh…we've met before, haven't we?"

"Only in passing." And Mrs. Evans gave what looked like a very feeble handshake.

Mr. Alman glanced between them. "Well…I was just asking Lola to stay for lunch. Would you like to join us? It'll be good _mum-bonding_ time."

She gave him a disarming smile. "Well, of course, I will! I'd love to join you. _And Lola_."

The four other girls shot looks at Gabriella as Sharpay. She stared around aimlessly, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so good.

**A/N: The chapter would be TOO long if I tried to fit in the luncheon. So look forward to that awkward event in lucky Chapter 13. **

**And I thought a bit of a role reversal would be interesting. Gabbie as the bad guy, Sharpay as the goodie. Don't worry Gabbie fans, she's not going to go all dark side on us. She's just overprotective of her mum. **

**Review please! Even if you think my writing's taken a nose dive in the time between Chapter X and Chapter 12, say so! Constructive is the key.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: So the Montez/Alman/Evans saga has kind of put all Troypay and Ryella action on the backburner. I thought it would be good to focus on the grown-ups for a while, to give another facet to the story. But after this we **_**shall**_** return to East High and our Wildcats. **

**There are a few more La Lohan references that somehow found their way into here.**

**Disclaimer: I don't (**_**yawn**_**) own…High…School…(**_**snore**_**)…**

**Chapter 13 **

**The Unhappy Meal**

**Sharpay **

"My hair dye must be leaking into your brain if you think I'll let you ruin this for her."

"You can't ruin something that isn't there."

"Oh, come on! _Look at them_. They're _totally_ into each other. They're acting like…_teenagers_."

"I know. _It's sickening_."

Sharpay groaned and pushed her hands through Gabbie's curly dark locks. Sharpay as Gabriella, Gabriella as Sharpay, Marie, Ronnie and Kim sat around the dining room table. 'The Hedlunds' glanced at the two whispering girls and then looked at each other. This was going to be an extremely awkward afternoon. And it had started so well…

"I can't believe you make empanadas," said Mrs. Montez, folding over a pastry patty carefully. The kitchen and dining area were linked by a large square window in the wall, complete with shutters, so they had a view of the culinary display being put on. "Gabbie loves them."

"Oh, so does Pay-pay!" Mrs. Evans piped up. She was leaning against the counter, drumming her nails on its surface while the two other adults cooked.

Shar rolled her eyes. She knew exactly why Gabbie had brought her mother. It was just like her to jump at the first broad-shouldered male she saw. The woman had even removed her wedding band!

Now, Sharpay loved her mum, _truly_ she did, but sometimes she just wanted to wallop her across the face with a frying pan.

"It is _so_ rare that you find a man who can cook," she gushed, watching him intently.

Mr. Alman gave a small, brief smile. "Believe it or not there was a time when I couldn't boil water without setting the kitchen on fire. But I had to learn how to do everything after my wife died."

Mrs. Evans looked puzzled. "Why didn't you just hire a cook? Or a nanny?"

"Pay somebody to look after my own kid?"

Sharpay gave the Gabriella in her body a deliberate look. Gabbie chose not to react and turned to Kim, gushing that she loved the color of her hair.

"Well, it worked for Ryan and Sharpay," Mrs. Evans continued, not realizing she was taking the wrong approach. "They obviously don't need a nanny anymore. But Idina- our cook- is _so_ useful to have around the house."

"_Like a vacuum cleaner_," Mrs. Montez muttered as she concentrated on her carrots.

Mr. Alman pursed his lips into a smile and shook his head slightly over the ingredients bowl.

Sharpay couldn't watch anymore. It was too embarrassing. She would have to take her mum aside when she got a chance and instill some sense into her. She glanced at Gabbie, and then the glance turned into a stare. What was _she_ smiling at?

"Is it just me," Ronnie murmured when Gabbie and Kim's fascinating follicle discussion died out, "or are those two crushing on your dad?"

Sharpay, Gabbie and Marie simultaneously turned red. This. Was. A. Nightmare.

**Gabriella **

This was turning out to be a _really_ bad idea. Mr. Alman was totally rebuffing Mrs. Evans. That could only mean one thing. He actually _liked_ her mother. _Urgh_.

What the heck was she going to do now? _Lola_ was getting all googly-eyed just because he was a sad widower who knew how to cook Gabbie's all time favorite food.

She needed another course of action. But her brain was starting to hurt from all this scheming. Maybe she was getting a little _too_ into being Sharpay.

The Sharpay in her body gave her a pointed look just then. What? Was Gabbie supposed to be impressed, just because Mr. Alman said something gallant and heartfelt about not wanting to hire a nanny?

This was too much! She needed…a cuddle, that's what she needed. A cuddle from…Ryan? Yes. Ryan. But only because Troy was currently unavailable. Ryan gave good cuddles. She found herself hugging him goodnight once. It felt…warm? Yes. That was the word. Warm, safe, sweet. She felt his heart beating against her own, and he kind of smelled like cinammon buns.

If Ryan were there, she mused, he would give her one of his cinammon bun hugs, and kiss her head and tell her not to worry because she'd get lines. She smiled to herself.

"Is it just me or are those two crushing on your dad?"

Gabriella as Sharpay's face fell and she found herself glaring into the kitchen again. Focus! She needed to focus. What could she do to get those two away from each other?

She turned to look at Marie, the doe-eyed blonde. Surely she was as uncomfortable with this as Gabbie? Maybe they could collaborate. Like the Parent Trap in reverse.

Suddenly inspired, Gabriella smiled across the table at her. It was a shame their respective parents weren't going to get together. She was actually a really cool girl.

"Lunch is served, ladies," Mr. Alman called.

**Sharpay **

Sharpay was officially ready to leave, even if it meant dragging Mrs. Montez with her.

At this point in time Mrs. Evans was not Sharpay's mother, but that did not make her behavior any less cringe-worthy. It wasn't the fact that she was being so overtly coquettish, it was simply that she was repeatedly snubbed, yet kept going back for more. This was most likely because she was not used to being denied. She probably didn't even realize he was actually into Mrs. Montez.

_Sweet jelly beans_, she needed Troy! He had such receptive ears, perfect for her bitching sessions. And he always knew some corny joke that would take all the weight off her shoulders. How was she going to cope without him as her boyfriend, or even her friend?

She sighed internally. Well, she would just have to deal with it when she and Gabriella switched back. _If_ they switched back…

Sharpay looked up from her half-eaten empanada. Mrs. Evans was excusing herself from the kitchen counter, asking where the bathroom was. With great reluctance she chose to abandon her food.

"I'll show you where it is…Mrs. Evans!"

Everyone gave her a quizzical look before silently accepting her convenient gesture. Together they made their way to the bathroom.

Sharpay stood patiently while Mrs. Evans spent ten minutes touching up her lipstick. She knew her mother was doing this because she never asked to go to the bathroom simply to _use_ the bathroom. It was always to make sure her make-up was perfect and to practice which posture would make her look leaner.

The door opened and sure enough, her cherry smile glimmered brighter than before.

"I can find my way back fine, thank you," she said with stiff sweetness. "You didn't have to wait for me."

Sharpay sighed. "Oh yes, I did. Moth- _Mrs. Evans_…you're making a fool of yourself."

Her smile dropped completely. "_Excuse_ me?"

She crossed her arms. "Well, you see, Mr. Alman is only interested in one woman, and that's my mum."

Mrs. Evans settled a hand on her hip and leaned back in her classic defensive stance.

"Well, aren't you the little matchmaker? _Listen_, dear…" She narrowed her eyes. "This would've been cute were you a ten-year-old with red hair and freckles. But since you're not, I'll have to tell you honestly…_stay out_ of other people's business. Mr. Alman can decide all by himself who he's interested in."

"You're _married_."

She smiled condescendingly. "That doesn't count for much these days, sweetie. Keep up with the times."

She patted her cheek and strolled off. Sharpay shook her head. It was hopeless.

**Gabriella**

"Thank you _so much_ for lunch, Michael," said Mrs. Evans. "The girls seem far too stuffed to plan anything today so I think I'll just take Pay-Pay home now."

Gabriella was more than ready to go. She actually felt guilty for dragging Sharpay's mum into this. Then again, wasn't she just returning the favor?

While Mrs. Evans said her goodbyes, Gabriella stood.

"Thanks for having me, you guys," she trilled, smoothing down her pink blouse efficiently. "This was a great way for us to establish a strong working relationship. Don't you think?"

The Hedlunds all nodded slowly and silently.

"See you around, Sharpay," said Ronnie.

"Yeah. See you," said Kim.

She smiled. Now was as good a time as any to corner Marie. "Marie, can I talk to you real quick before we go?" She gestured to the far-end of the dining-room.

"Uh…sure."

They moved into a corner of the room, which probably wasn't the best idea because now they had to huddle there, whispering like idiots.

Gabriella decided to get straight to it. "I think Mrs. Montez likes your dad."

Marie glanced at who she thought to be Gabriella. "Well uh…that's good because I _know_ my dad likes Mrs. Montez. I'm lucky if I go a whole day without hearing her name."

Gabbie nodded sympathetically. "It bugs you, doesn't it?"

She shrugged. "Not really. She makes him all smiley. And when he's smiley _I'm_ smiley. He works so hard to give me a good life. I just wanna see him happy, you know?"

Gabbie hesitated. This was not the reaction she was hoping for. And now she was starting to question herself. Did Mr. Alman make her mum all smiley? She couldn't really tell. Her mum was _always_ smiling.

"Yeah. I know."

Marie nodded awkwardly, surely wondering why on earth this girl was so involved in the relationship of somebody else's parents. She had _not_ painted a very good picture of Sharpay. But she couldn't really feel bad about that.

"_Time to go, Sharpay. _We don't want to be late for our yoga appointment."

Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Montez and Mr. Alman were drifting through the dining-room, into the living-room and out the front door. Gabriella rolled her eyes, an action which made Marie chuckle a little, and they followed out onto the porch.

Before the Sharpay in Gabbie's body rejoined her mother, she went over to Mrs. Evans in the most random manner possible and dragged her into a fierce hug. Mrs. Evans simply stood with her hands raised in alarm.

"I'll miss you," she murmured.

Mrs. Evans, clueless to the fact that this was her daughter, smiled weakly. "How…_nice_."

Gabriella proceeded to take Sharpay by the arm and drag her away, down the porch steps.

"_Hey_!" she hissed, waving back to the girls. "Can't a girl hug her own mother?"

"She's _not_ your mother, remember?" Gabriella murmured through her smile. "You're making me look crazy."

"_Just returning the favor_."

They stood, glaring at each other in the driveway, before finally parting ways and marching to their respective cars.

"And, _Sharpay_!" Gabriella barely hesitated before turning back. It was kind of scary how used to the name she was getting. The Sharpay in her body leered at her. "It's called being _friendly_! You should try it."

Gabriella shot her a fierce look.

Getting back in her body was officially at the top of her to-do list.

**A/N: I myself have never had empanadas. But they **_**sound**_** really good so I figured Gabbie would like them!**

**And although it is quite sweet for a dad to double as a mum, it's really inconvenient to not have a nanny when you're working. So for anyone who's interested (anyone? Anyone at all?) Mr. Alman gets his sister to pick Marie up from school, and she spends the afternoons there when he's really busy. It's a bit of a hassle considering his sister has kids of her own that **_**don't**_** go to East High, but she's a really cool chick. **

**I think you can tell that I like making people up! It's kind of like the Simms…**

**Okay. That's my random musing for the day. Review please. If you don't it's okay. I'm in this sumbitch 'til the end, reviews or no! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I am SO psyched! Tomorrow, at five o'clock in the morning, RENT is on! Huzzah! I am going to set my alarm clock, sneak into my parents room and turn off the security system, and then…'**_**Seasons of Love**_**'…**

**Now **_**this**_** is what happens when your parents don't just get you the soundtrack you**_** asked for**_** in the first place! Anywho. That's all I have to say for today's A/N! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. **

**Chapter 14**

**Darbus Found Out, a.k.a The Idina Shirt**

**Gabriella**

When Gabbie as Sharpay got dressed that morning she didn't think much of it. Pink denim miniskirt, with wedges, and a frilly white top. She decided Sharpay was feeling Bohemian that morning and added a pink headscarf over her blonde hair.

As she made her way down the stairs, Gabriella's ears were subjected to a bloodcurdling shriek. She was certain it was Mrs. Evans being murdered, until she looked up to see Ryan, standing at the foot of the stairs, clutching his face.

"Sharpay!" he continued to scream.

She started in alarm. "_What_?"

He shook his head woefully. "Have you _lost your mind_?" he managed to get his quavering voice to a lower octave. "You're wearing the _Idina shirt_!"

She glanced down at the blouse, totally clueless as to what he was saying. "_What_?!" she repeated.

"Go upstairs," he commanded. "Go upstairs right now and _change_!"

Gabriella checked her watch. "We're gonna be late, Ryan," she said breezily. She couldn't give away the fact that 'Sharpay' had no idea what the hell he was talking about. "It's no big deal that I'm wearing…_the Idina shirt_."

Was it some sort of exclusive fashion label? That's the only thing she could imagine him getting so upset about.

Ryan's wardrobe had been subject to some change since she arrived. He had some trouble putting all of his hats away in a box, save one white fedora, but she ensured him that change was always good.

Together they took baby steps into a shopping mall. Gabriella was very conscious of _not_ turning into Sharpay in this field and Ryan ended up picking out a cool vintage brown T all on his own. In addition, he bought (get ready to have your mind blown) _a pair of jeans._

For some reason, Sharpay was not on the bus that morning. It was a good thing, too, because Gabbie doubted she would be happy with her brother's extreme makeover.

She had yet to find out that Ryan was the last thing on the evil blonde's mind.

**Sharpay **

Sharpay as Gabriella gave an excited squeal when she heard the hoot of a car in the driveway.

"Troy's here!" she said swiftly, standing and devouring the last of her breakfast. "I'll see you after school. We'll go to the caterers and pick up those tables."

She snatched up her backpack, gave Mrs. Montez a peck on the cheek and raced out of the kitchen.

Mrs. Montez had simply smiled in response. It seemed all she did was beam dreamily these days.

Sharpay was glad. It felt good to actually _create_ happiness for once.

She yanked open the door, eager to see the new car her boyfriend until further notice had been ranting and raving about.

Sharpay stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it, and found herself struggling to maintain the smile.

Troy stood proudly by his pick-up, a truck worthy only of Clark Kent. Troy seemed to deliberately create a farmboy look with his white t-shirt and fading jeans. _Oh God._

"_Whadya think_?"

What did she _think_? He did not want to know what she thought. Sharpay couldn't be seen in this tin can! But then again, she was supposed to be Gabriella. Gabriella wouldn't object. And on second thought, neither would she.

Sharpay beamed and strolled over to him.

"_It's gorgeous_," she gushed. "Just throw a couple of hay bales in the back and you're good to go."

She threw her arms around his neck and he pecked her cheek.  
"Glad you like it," he said. "It was my dad's before it was mine. And I tried ta make it purty enuf for ya," he added in his best effort at a Southern twang.

She fluffed up his hair with her hands fondly. "_That's okay_. You're pretty enough for me all on your own!"

She smiled when he opened the door for her. It _was_ kind of a cute car. More charming than any sports vehicle he could have presented her with, and she knew Troy looked up to his dad a lot. So she could accept the truck. Besides- Clark Kent _was_ Superman.

**Gabriella **

It seemed the Evans' twins were in a shrieking mood that morning. On her way to second period with Ryan, Gabbie was stopped in her tracks by a visceral roar.

"_Sharpay_! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

It seemed half the East High students heard her command and they stopped, too.

Gabriella was alarmed to see her body charging towards her. What did she do now?

Sharpay seemed to skid to a halt before her. "You're wearing the Idina shirt!" she hissed.

"What is _up_ with this shirt?" she squealed.

"You're wearing the shirt _Idina Menzel_ signed for you when _you_ went to see RENT!"

Ryan's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

It was only when Gabbie looked back at her shirt that she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a signature. "_Who_ is Idina Menzel?" Gabriella exclaimed.

The Sharpay in her body narrowed her eyes. "I would _so_ hit you right now if I didn't know it would leave a mark. _Take off the shirt_," she commanded.

Ryan shook his head slowly and stepped in front of who he thought was his sister. "Gabriella, _what_ is your problem?"

"Let's just go, Ryan." Gabbie was eager to get away. Not because she was afraid, but because Sharpay was making her look bad.

"You're not going anywhere until you take off that shirt."

And before she knew what was happening, Gabriella was being tackled to the ground. She landed on her back and felt the air fly out of her. Sharpay was trying to pry the clothes off of her own body in front of the whole school.

Out of nowhere, Zeke appeared at her side. _Thank God_.

"Catfight!" he called. Well, he obviously wasn't going to be any help at all.

"Potentially naked catfight!" Jason materialized as well.

The introduction of the word 'naked' certainly drew crowds. Soon a mass of cheering, jeering and protesting students surrounded them.

Now Gabriella was no wimp. Her father had taught her a thing or two about defending herself. The only course of action she saw appropriate, therefore, was to give Sharpay a full on head-butt. She could hear their skulls connecting, feel the dull, blinding pain, and then Sharpay toppled off her, reeling.

And so both girls lay on the floor, semi-conscious. In the distance, Gabriella heard the disheartened sigh of the crowds at this anti-climax.

"Sharpay! Sharpay!"

Ryan was at her side, clutching her hand.

"Are you okay?"

Gabbie smiled dazedly. "_Fine_. But could I get extra barbecue sauce with that?"

**Sharpay **

All right. She _may_ have overreacted. But Gabriella _totally_ wore that shirt on purpose.

She just wanted to tick her off by pretending she didn't know any better. And then, at the end of the day, she would throw it in the washing machine and watch with malicious delight as Idina's signature was erased.

Sharpay and Ryan had gone all the way out to New York to see RENT. They got backstage passes and everything, compliments of Mr. Evans. She didn't even get a look at Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal thanks to the insane fangirls (Ryan being one of them), but it did not matter. The only autograph she needed was from her muse, her idol.

Unfortunately, Sharpay lost her notebook. She probably dropped it when they performed 'La Vie Boheme' and she stood up to dance along. Or maybe some spiteful RENThead had stolen it because she was 'blocking their view' or whatever else they were whining about.

But Idina had been so sweet about it. She just signed Sharpay's shirt instead. That shirt was her prized possession. If the Evans' house ever caught fire, she would run back in to get it.

However, Ms. Darbus did not look particularly sympathetic as she stood between their beds in the nurse's ward.

"_This was supposed to help you two_," she heard her muttering fiercely.

Sharpay squinted against the throbbing in her head. "What did you say?"

She gave a little start and looked to Sharpay as Gabriella. "I said…" she said imperiously, "you two _cannot_ be helped."

"_She's_ the one that attacked me," Gabriella as Sharpay groaned from her opposing bed.

Ms. Darbus folded her arms and glared at Sharpay. "Yes. I understand you tried to _strip_ Gabriella, Sharpay."

"I had my rea-" Sharpay's eyes widened. So did Ms. Darbus'. She wasn't sure, but Shar guessed Gabbie's eyes were pretty round, too. "Did you just call me _Sharpay_?"

Ms. Darbus flushed. "Well, er…what I meant to say was-"

"You just called me Gabriella!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Well, I got confused! It was a simple mistake…"

Sharpay was suddenly hit with a flashback. _Take. The. Cookie._

"_You_!" she shrieked. "You and the cookies!"

"What?" Gabriella cried. And then she turned to Ms. Darbus, realization dawning. "_You_? You orchestrated this? Ms. Darbus!"

Darbus faltered, stammered and denied meekly, before the combined force of the girls' glares made her crack.

"This was supposed to help you two _get along_! Walking a mile in somebody else's shoes and whatnot. I didn't even think it would work…"

Sharpay sat up, horrified. Gabriella did the same.

"Do you know how much this has screwed up our lives? _She_ is trying to marry off my mother!"

"And _she_ is dressing my brother up like…_everybody else_!"

"He'd rather look like everybody else than the matching figurine in your Ken and Barbie doll set!"

"_She'd_ rather be married off than commit her entire life to babysitting _you_."

"You're selfish!"

"I know you are but what am I?"

Ms. Darbus put a hand to her head and gave a little wail. She fled the ward, and neither girl noticed.

**A/N: Okay. I am SO psyched about RENT it actually found its way into my fic!**

**Sharpay's little RENT story was inspired by stuff I read on IMDB about how some of the actors don't come out sometimes for whatever reasons. But they're all really nice apparently (**_**Anthony- call me**_**). Anyway, I love Idina Menzel. So I thought it made sense that the Drama Queen of East High would be infatuated with the Drama Queen of the East Village!**

**Gawd, If I could even see those guys on stage…I would **_**die**_**! But only after getting my autographs. **

**R&R, dah-links, R&R!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Okay, this one is more of a filler chapter as we move on to the events of Sharpay's fundraiser. You don't even have to read it really, seeing as it doesn't impact the actual course of the story. Just needed to get it out of the way.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it…**

**Chapter 15**

**The Talks**

**Sharpay**

"But there has to be some other way out of this!"

"_Lower_ your voice, Sharpay, you are approaching hysterical."

"Oh, I'm not just _approaching_ it, Ms. Darbus. I _am_ hysterical! This is me hysterical!"

Sharpay as Gabriella watched Ms. Darbus massage her temples wearily while she huffed. As her teacher had refused to talk to her during lesson time, Shar was now spending her free period in homeroom, glaring at the revealed culprit across the desk.

She could not _believe_ she was in this mess because of her. The woman always seemed to be so level-headed, so straightforward, so shrewd, so…all right. She wasn't any of those things. But as an adult, wasn't it her job to know better?

Who cared what her freaking intentions were? Ever since the life swap Sharpay had been subjected to nothing but suffering. Well…all right. She _had_ gotten to be with Troy, which probably never would have happened otherwise. And she _did_ get to live with a mother that wasn't always drinking. Not to mention the exceptional grades…

"Sharpay? _Sharpay_. Are you still with me, dear?"

Sharpay blinked. "What? Oh. Yeah. _Listen_, Ms. Darbus," she clasped her hands on the desk, "I'm over being angry. _Seriously_. I know you were only trying to help us. So…thanks I guess!"

Ms. Darbus shook her head slowly. "_Sharpay_…have you ever considered the possibility that you may be bipolar?"

Sharpay smirked and stood. "I'd love to stick around and chat, Ms. Darbus, but I've got a free period to enjoy. Not that…_studying_ is ever enjoyable."

The teacher smiled wryly. "The whole point of this escapade was to reconcile you and Gabriella. I still believe it is possible…"

Sharpay hesitated before shrugging. "_Stranger things have happened_."

And with that she strolled out of the classroom, only to be caught by Taylor, who looked particularly fetching in a yellow dress Sharpay had picked out for her.

Sharpay had dramatically changed the state of Gabbie and Taylor's relationship. She knew the deal was to _not_ alter each other's lives but in all fairness, what else was she supposed to do? She didn't know a thing about La Vie Einsteinette and no amount of crammed knowledge would help her effectively fake it. Besides, she had never really experienced having a best friend that was not her brother and felt she had no choice but to exploit it.

For the past few weeks the two had shopped together, watched lame soap operas together and divulged sensitive details on relationships while painting each other's toenails (an overrated pastime, as Sharpay had discovered). It was weird, in a nice way. And it kept them off the topic of Science, Algebra and Decathlons.

Today, however, Taylor looked unusually PO'd.

"_Gabriella Montez_, what the hell is up with you?" she demanded, strutting along side her.

She shrugged. "Sharpay was getting on my nerves."

"And you resolved that by _ramming her into the ground_ in front of half the student body?"

"What can I say? I had to beat the biatch down eventually."

Taylor grabbed Sharpay's arm and spun her round so that they were face-to-face. She took her by the shoulders.

"Okay. _Don't_ be offended, Gabbie," she said slowly, "but you've been _weird _lately."

"You mean different."

"Right. And different is fine. I _like_ New Gabriella. I like all the girly stuff I do with New Gabriella. But that doesn't mean I want Old Gabriella to disappear. Do you understand?"

She nodded contritely. "She won't, Taylor. It is my solemn vow that Old Gabriella will be back soon."

She pursed her lips into a smile and nodded. They began to walk together again.

After a pensive moment's silence, Sharpay spoke. "You're a good best friend, Taylor. Sometimes, you act superior. But then I do, too. So I guess I'm trying to…_thank you_? Maybe? For being my friend." She felt embarrassed suddenly. "But I've told you all this before, haven't I?"

"No," said Taylor quietly. "Not really. Thank _you_ for saying it." She put a companionable arm around Sharpay's shoulder. "You're a good best friend, too. I wouldn't trade you for anybody else."

Sharpay was puzzled at her own sad smile.

"Of course, you wouldn't."

**Gabriella**

"_No_, Gabriella, there is nothing I can do."

"But you started this. Fix it!"

Gabriella was in for her own Darbus consultation and as with Sharpay, it was proving as productive as…asking Ms. Darbus for help.

Gabriella was severely ticked off, and felt entitled to it, seeing as she had had to suffer while Sharpay enjoyed _her_ life.

Admittedly, it wasn't all bad. While marooned on Evans' island, she had Ryan. He kept her somewhat sane through everything. She smiled fondly. Ryan was a good guy. He would make a very good boyfriend to a very lucky girl…

Hang on a second. Gabriella flushed at a sudden revelation. A very lucky girl? A very lucky girl that wasn't her? _Oh crap_. What if Ryan actually found someone?

She bit her lip anxiously. Well, she would just have to deal, wouldn't she? It was unfair to keep him dangling when she had no interest in him whatsoever, right? _Right_. He deserved someone. But was it selfish to hope he didn't find anyone?

_Yes_, because she had a boyfriend. Troy. She liked Troy. She liked him deeply. And Ryan…she liked Ryan, too. Maybe a little part of her even-

"Gabriella?"

"Yes!" she found herself yelling and it caused Darbus to jump a little.

She flushed. "_Sorry_. You were saying something important?"

"Obviously not important at all," said Darbus wryly. "You seem a million miles away, dear."

"Oh. Well…I was just…thinking. I think I have a lot of thinking…to do. Thank you for your time, Ms. Darbus."

She stood slowly and Ms. Darbus hastened to add, "With some re-assessment, you may find that you and Sharpay are not so different."

"Maybe," she said vaguely. "Maybe?"

Gabriella wandered the halls of East High, feeling dejected. He deserved to be happy. Even if it didn't involve her.

She was so lost in thought that she did not notice Troy walking past her until he called her (and by that I mean _Sharpay's_) name.

She turned swiftly on her heel, her cheeks flushing with guilt at the thoughts that had been plaguing her.

"Hey," he said, somewhat bashfully.

"What's up?" she murmured.

He tucked his hands into his jean pockets and hunched his shoulders.

"I uh…just wanted to apologize. About Gabriella. I heard about what happened today."

"_Who didn't_? You need to find a good leash for your girlfriend, Bolton," she intoned, eagerly awaiting his valiant rush to her defense.

"I don't think a leash could hold her. Steal cage maybe, but not a leash. _I don't know_…" he stared at the floor as he continued, oblivious to Gabriella as Sharpay's gaping expression. "She's just been so different lately."

"Uh-huh," she said weakly. _Steal cage_?! "Good different or…"

"Good _and_ bad different? It's like…the Gabbie I knew before was just…_perfect_. Sweet and supportive…docile. It's like she got all her relationship skills from an instruction manual. But now…"

Gabriella could barely get her voice above a croak. "_Now_?"

"Now…" he smiled ever so slightly, "she kind of reminds me of you. Ironically."

Gabbie resisted a grimace. Irony? He didn't know the half of it.

Unable to hear anymore, Gabbie gave some weak excuse about needing to use the bathroom.

She barely made it into the stall before tears rose. She sobbed silently, not knowing why.

**Author's Note: Quite a sour note to end the chappie on but oh well! Thought I should add a bit of Sharpay as Gabriella/Taylor interaction. That's all we're really going to have. I realize I've kind of put a lot of characters in the background, but they weren't really valuable to this story. I can't leave them out completely, though!**

**So R&R if you please! I'll understand if you don't. There isn't much to say!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: **_**Ladies and Gnargles**_**, I present to you the first stage of the festivities! Read and hopefully enjoy…**

**Disclaimer: Why am I still doing this? It's the OCD. I MUST type the word "Disclaimer" in every chapter!**

**Chapter 16**

**Van Milder- Part Un**

**Sharpay **

Every person present that Saturday morning knew better than to approach Sharpay as Gabriella. She was in full party-planning mode, inaccessible and deadly. Even Troy resigned himself to working in silence, not daring to catch her eye.

This was nothing new for Sharpay, being something of a fascist dictator when it came to these things. But it _was_ rather weird for the kind and innocuous Gabriella, so much so that her mother until further notice saw fit to pull her aside.

"_Gabbie_? Are you feeling all right? You seem a bit…_high-strung_."

"Is Mr. Alman here?" she inquired, peering down at her special pink book through her rose-tinted shades.

"_No_. Not yet. But sweetie-"

"And the Evans twins?"

"I don't think so-"

"_Jeez_," she hissed, rubbing her temples. "Does no one understand the meaning of _punctuality_? The band should've been here _five_ minutes ago to set up, _Sharpay_ is supposed to be my co-coordinator and she forgot to buy the extra _freaking_ napkins. It just doesn't seem right!"

Mrs. Montez gave her a reproachful look. "_Gabriella_, I think you need to take it easy for a bit."

"_Mother_. I think you need to share my vision for a bit. _Uh-tut-tut_!" She held up a hand to halt her. "Mr. Alman will be here any minute now. You need to fluff up your hair more."

Mrs. Montez's hand drifted to her hair and she made her way uncertainly back into the house.

Sharpay sighed and looked out over the comfortably-sized garden, its freshly cut grass rippling, the multi-colored table cloths (rose, magenta, cherry, crimson) making everything seem brighter in the sun…

Three weeks of preparation had brought her to this moment. Sharpay had employed the Wildcats team and friends to help her that day. Troy and Chad were arranging tables, Kelsi, Martha and Taylor were sorting finger snacks. Zeke was slaving away in the kitchen (she had nearly reduced him to tears mere minutes ago). It was becoming clear to Sharpay that friends were not only good for the company, but for the labor as well.

At the heart of all the madness, however, Shar had not lost sight of why she came up with this idea in the first place. It was all to give those two middle-aged, star-crossed lovers a chance to see each other more often. Their relationship was flourishing wonderfully, albeit unhurriedly, under her care. Mr. Alman and Mrs. Montez were still trapped in that state of limbo. The stage that came before that bashful, almost juvenile confession, "_I like you_."

Finally, Mr. Alman and The Hedlunds arrived. Sharpay set about helping with the unloading of equipment while the aforementioned lovers rifled through some Santana albums Mrs. Montez had mentioned.

This was going to be a good day, from start to finish. She would make sure of it.

**Gabriella**

"Thanks for letting me get involved in this thing."

"Don't waste your thanks on me. Carrying paper plates isn't _exactly_ involvement."

"Well, hey. If it means I get to see her more often, bring on the disposable utensils."

Gabriella as Sharpay laughed a little as she played with his hair, spiking it up lightly with her fingers. He sat on the floor by her bed and she fussed over him with what could be taken as sisterly affection.

Gabriella was not looking forward to the fundraiser. She had half-heartedly participated in the preparations, being more concerned with the idea of her mother actually dating.

Over the past few weeks she had resigned herself to the fact that Mrs. Montez actually was capable of romantic sentiments, even at the ripe old age of forty. But that didn't make her any more comfortable with it.

Gabriella was thirteen when her father died and for three years she had tried to fill the gap. She convinced herself that she could. Her mother would be her life and vice versa. Whoever else came into the equation, it would always be the two of them in the end. And that would be enough.

But it wasn't. In the back of her mind, in the darkest recesses of her heart, she knew it wasn't. So she got by with her school work and her friends and her boyfriend. What did her mother have? What did she actually _have_ that was hers? Her smile.

So maybe Gabbie _was_ selfish. Maybe they had both been deluded. Maybe it was time to move on. Change was always good.

"Hey! You up there." Ryan patted her cheek. "Quit drifting off! This is my bitching and moaning time. You _can't_ drift off during my bitching and moaning time."

She blinked. "Right. How inconsiderate of me. _Continue_."

He looked up at her for a moment before sighing. "I love seeing her. I love talking to her. I just want to be around her. But she doesn't see me. She never really sees me."

Gabbie frowned. "I- she _does_ see you," she said earnestly.

"No, she doesn't!"

"Well," she threw her hands up in the air, "you just need to be more assertive then. _Make_ her notice you."

Ryan scoffed and for some reason it made her sad, and at the same time angry.

"You say that like it's simple. _Be assertive_. Bravado doesn't come easy to everyone, you know."

Yes. She knew. That was what made it so frustrating. But _Sharpay_ didn't know so she didn't say it.

She sighed and gave his shoulder an encouraging little shove instead.

"Things can change, Ryan. But you have to _want_ them to first. You can't always wait for it to happen."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe this is our _milestone_ and we'll come back totally different people than we were before."

Gabbie smiled a little. She hoped so.

**Sharpay**

"_What_ is she doing here?"

"Well, believe it or not-"

"_Or not_."

"-I didn't bring her. She wanted to come. Said her money was as good as anybody else's."

Gabriella was, of course, talking about Mrs. Evans, currently standing in between Mrs. Montez and Mr. Alman (in the literal sense that is). Sharpay and Gabriella watched them from the hallway. Shar was in such a state of exasperation all she could do was laugh.

The Gabriella in her body gave her an incredulous look but seemingly opted out of a jibe.

"I'm going to help Ryan with the rest of those dinky little plastic forks and knives."

"_Good girl_. You go make yourself useful now."

Sharpay ignored the glare this garnered and progressed stealthily into the living room. All three adults had their backs turned to her as they perused the book shelves (perused Mr. Alman in her mother's case). She tapped Mrs. Evans on the shoulder, and like a chain reaction they all turned to face her.

"Mrs. Evans," she said sweetly, "I think you left your headlights on."

She furrowed her brow, quickly cottoning on to Sharpay's intent. "Why would I have them on in the middle of the day?"

She shrugged. "That's what I'd like to know." She spun on her heel and walked out without another word. She could sense the exasperated sigh rather than hear it and a few seconds later they were hissing at each other outside the living room.

"I'm starting to think you're a very _rude_ little girl, Gabriella. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Afraid not, no."

She shook her attractive blonde head. "Are you going to make it your business to kill my fun?"

"_Yes_. If your fun comes at the expense of my mother. You're _married_, old lady!" she whisper-yelled. "You have kids that love you and need you to act like a real mum. So…stop embarrassing Sharpay and Ryan!"

For a moment, the woman looked genuinely appalled. "I do _not_ embarrass my children."

Sharpay gave her a pointed look, her eyes darting down to the plunging neckline of her dress.

Mrs. Evans retorted with a defiant tilt of her chin but tugged vaguely at her outfit all the same.

"I don't embarrass my children," she reiterated.

"Yeah, well…you certainly hurt them."

They had a moment just then, a moment of truth really. Sharpay eradicated it by clearing her throat efficiently. "Now if you don't mind, I have things to do."

She had secured the last word, so Sharpay turned and made her way to the kitchen in triumph. But then, there came a niggling bit of anger after their dispute, a persistent ache, that had always been there, and always would be, no matter who's body she was in.

**Gabriella**

In the house, Taylor, Kelsi and the rest gave Gabriella fleeting greetings. It aroused a strong pang of loss. Her friends. She had almost gotten used to just the single friend.

She was happy to see her mother, not so much Mr. Alman (still, her dislike was starting to drip and dry out like some sort of leaky faucet). She was happy to see Marie and The Hedlunds (although this joy was probably not reciprocated). She was happy to see the Wildcats; Chad with his wide disarming grin, Jason with his dumb face, Zeke sniffing resentfully over a saucepan about who knew what.

And Troy. Troy waved to her and smiled, but it was not meant for her. The sudden change in his face was not for her, nor was the warm wink (who the hell still _winked_ anyway?).

For Troy, she felt resentment, coupled with a faint longing, and crowded by a sisterly fondness. All this seemed to amount to nothing. She was losing the connection, and it scared her.

Gabriella dropped a box of glasses on her way back from the car and immediately took that as an omen. Not many broke but still, an omen.

This day would not end well.

**Author's Note: Freakin' angst. It always manages to creep in somehow. A reflection of my own mood perhaps? I hope not. But anyway! That was Van Milder- Part Un. Part Deux coming soon to a computer screen near you. Or whatever. **

**R&R, beetches!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: This is random and has nothing to do with the fic but who here watches 'Pushing Daisies'? **_**Ned**_** is just (and I can't believe I'm about to use this adjective) **_**divine**_**! No male has ever induced so many fangirl squees in me (and I have **_**squeed**_** many times before). **

**But on a heavier note, how sad is it about Heath Ledger? R.I.P Heath!**

**Disclaimer: I can't **_**not**_** type disclaimer. I just can't. **

**Chapter 17**

**Van Milder- Part Deux**

**Sharpay**

The afternoon wore on and the sounds of applause and chatter rose on the air. Sharpay as Gabriella clapped vehemently for The Hedlunds, all donning summer dresses that clashed charmingly with their instruments.

She stood by the doors that lead back into the house, watching the day's patrons. The turn out was good and Ms. Darbus sat inside, gleefully counting money. Sharpay had not allowed her bottom to touch a chair all day. She was already starting to feel weary. But the fatigue mingled with a deep satisfaction. So far so good. Now if only she could bring herself to put down the book and some place to rest…

"Ms. Montez, you look just about ready to pass out."

Troy materialized at her side with a plate of food and rested his free hand on the small of her back. Sharpay sighed, stepping closer and leaning into him with a cat-like glee.

"Methinks we need some place quiet?"

Had it been anyone else she would have protested primly. But how could she say no to that golden boy grin and a plate of Zeke's chicken croquettes?

'Some place quiet' ended up being Gabriella's room. And as Troy and Sharpay reclined on Gabbie's bed, the twisted irony of it all was not lost on the blonde. She found herself deliberately placing the plate between them.

Troy jiggled his feet to the music drifting up from outside. Sharpay watched him pensively. It was moments like this, quiet moments that made her remember. She remembered that her happiness was half-baked. This was Gabbie's bed, Gabbie's blue dress, Gabbie's boyfriend. So really, it wasn't even _her_ happiness.

She turned her gaze from Troy's feet to his face. An absent look adorned it. She narrowed her eyes a little. But _was_ he Gabbie's boyfriend? Was he _hers_?

Sharpay didn't like to boast (too often) but she knew that when in her body, Troy had liked her. In that friendly, vaguely flirtatious sort of way he had liked her. But there had always been a wall between them.

And now look at the position she was in! She had an opportunity to knock down the wall and see herself on the other side. Sharpay bit her lip. But no. Not even _she_ would stoop so low. No matter how much she…

"You okay? You seem quiet."

"You, too."

"I'm thinking."

"Same here. What are _you_ thinking?"  
"Nothing productive. You?"

"_Meh_. Just science stuff."

"Well, I'm not so foolish as to try to get into the head of a genius."

She rolled her eyes at the randomness of their dialogue and turned to look at him. He was nothing special. What did he have going for him _really_? The Brady Bunch haircut. The cheesy grin. The dumb jockiness. But then, she _liked_ his hair, she liked his smile, she liked his dumb jockiness, always laced with a disarming wit. She had flown beyond liking him…

"_I love you,_" she said absently.

Sharpay watched his eyes widen to the size of side plates. "_What_?"

She clamped her lips shut when she realized what she'd just done. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"You what?" His question was not one of disbelief. He seemed to be buying time.

But Sharpay was too flustered to notice. Montez was going to kill her. But as she took in the look in Troy's eyes, she forgot, and her lips gave way to everything she had wanted to say to him since before Gabriella appeared.

She sat up, trying to distance herself without being distant.

"_I love you_," she breathed anxiously. "Is that okay?"

Troy stared up at her. "This is the part where I say something…but I don't know what it is."

She shrugged. "I love you, too would be ideal."

He shook his head, a lost look clouding his eyes. "I…can't."

"You…_can't_?"

For a split second she was devastated. But then her trembling lips turned up into a beam.

Troy sat up suddenly, looking incredulous. "You're smiling? Gabriella, are you _happy_? That I don't…"

"_You don't love me_." Sharpay forced the smile from her face. He didn't love Gabriella. And she was supposed to be upset about that. "Of course, I'm not happy! I am…very, _very_ hurt. You have _hurt me_, Troy Bolton. I think we need some space," she added eagerly.

He seemed to be struggling to grasp all that was happening. "_Space_? You want to break up?"

"_Yes_." She hopped off the bed. Screw her conscience. If Troy didn't love Gabriella, then she was doing them all a favor.

"You're breaking up with me?"

"That's the general idea, yeah." She sidled towards the door.

"Gabbie, _wait_!"

"_What_?" Her hand clutched the doorknob. She did not want him to talk her out of it.

"It's not that I don't care about you. I just-"

"Yeah, okay. _Whatever_." Feeling she should do something conclusive before her grand exit, Sharpay blew Troy a kiss.

She flung the door open and fled, leaving an extremely perplexed ex in her wake.

On her way down the stairs, Shar was confronted by the Gabbie in her body coming up.

"_Troy wants to see you_," she exhaled before Gabriella could speak.

"_He does_? Why?" She narrowed her eyes. "What did you say to him?"

Sharpay shook her head and slid past her swiftly, feeling more of a villain than she ever had before.

**Gabriella**

Gabbie needed to get away. Every time she saw Ryan, all she wanted was to fall into his arms and be given more than a hug. She was sick of his cinammon bun hugs! She just wanted…_more_.

But more she could not have, and so she grabbed her chance at escape when Kelsi approached them for conversation. She left the two discussing sheet music and made her way to the only safe place she could think of.

On her way up to the bedroom, however, who else should she be confronted with but the Sharpay in her body, obviously flustered?

"_Troy wants to see you_." She sounded anxious.

Gabbie frowned. "He does? Why? What did you say to him?"

She shook her head a little but said nothing, and tore down the stairs. Gabbie looked after her, and then up to where her room was.

She poked her head through the door slowly and glanced around the place before her eyes rested on him. Troy sat on the bed, scratching the back of his head. He glanced up at her when she knocked.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"What?" He shook his head, as if clearing it. "Uh…_yeah_. I guess I do."

She slid in and closed the door behind her, wondering why she felt so cautious in her own bedroom.

Gabbie stood there, waiting for him to speak. When he finally did, it was worse than she expected.

"I think we broke up," he said quietly.

"Who?"

"Me and Gabbie."

Her eyes widened. "_What_?" she croaked.

Troy shook his head, looking down. "She told me she loved me."

She refrained from gasping in horror. That bimbotic little schemer!

"And…what did _you_ say?"

"I didn't say anything! I couldn't."

Gabbie was overwhelmed now by the urge to flee. "Why are you telling _me_ this?"

He looked up and what she saw in his eyes made her want to break something. Something blonde.

"You know why."

"No, I don't know why!" she squealed. "It has _nothing_ to do with Sh- with me!"

"It has everything to do with you! _Look_," he stood and paced the length of the bed slowly. "I _chose_ to be with Gabbie. You were always there but I chose her because she was safe. So _I _was safe. But when I'm with you, I'm _not_ safe. I'm…scared." He stopped pacing. "I'm happy and I'm scared."

She shook her head. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say I _like_ you! And now I've been dumped and I'm okay with it. But it doesn't feel right that I'm okay with it. This is kind of a lot for my brain to handl-" Troy halted, his eyes widening. "_Don't_." He rushed forward. "Don't cry, Sharpay, _please_."

Gabbie could not help it. The prickle built up behind her eyes and soon her vision was blurred. Tears brimmed and dropped down her cheeks rapidly.

But then Troy took her hand and she was reminded of what her nemesis had done. It didn't matter that they maybe sort of didn't want to be together anymore. Sharpay had no right to break them up. And now she was pissed.

She pulled her hand out of his. "I'm going to find her."

"Who?"

"_Gabriella_."

"Why?"  
"She broke up with you, now I'm going to break her."

"_Whoa, whoa_!" He took her by the shoulders. "Sharpay, I am _touched_ by your wanting to defend my honor but-"

She held up an authoritative hand. "Less talking, more ass-kicking."

With that she flew out of the room, down the stairs, Troy trailing behind rather pointlessly.

Gabbie had cried out of relief. She could see this even through her anger, her bitter sadness. It was over. They were over. And she was okay with it, too.

**Sharpay**

"How's your food, sir?"

"_All right_. The croquettes are a little dry but-"

"Shut up, they're perfect."

Sharpay moved away, half-crouching, from the affronted table and made for the one nearest to it. She was hiding under the pretense of being attentive to the guests.

Sharpay was not a bad person. She only did bad things. And she had a tendency to not _regret_ doing those bad things. Ending Troy and Gabbie's relationship was one of those bad things. But it was for the greater good, wasn't it? _Her_ greater good, damn it!

"_GABRIELLA_!"

Unfortunately, certain individuals could not see the good in anything that didn't benefit them.

Sharpay was practically under the table and it took immense courage to show herself. A furious blonde was storming towards her and everyone's focus turned to the pair of girls. In the background The Hedlunds continued to play, despite their quizzical looks.

"_Sharpay_," she hissed when Gabriella was a foot away. "This is _not_ the time or place for a smackdown. I _don't_ want to fight you."

"You should've thought of that before you ended it with Troy," she snarled.

"I didn't mean to! It just sort of…_unraveled_."

"It didn't unravel. _You_"- and she jabbed her collarbone with a finger- "tore it apart."

Sharpay folded her arms across her chest, as a sign of defiance and because it kind of hurt when Gabriella poked her.

"He doesn't love you."

She gave a chuckle so manic not even the real Sharpay could have pulled it off. "And what would _you_ know about love?" she whisper-screamed. "If I recall correctly, your first and last _real_ relationship ended with you being called a frigid bitch in front of the entire school."

Sharpay's mouth dropped open. Not even she could have expected such cruelty from the mouth in which butter would not melt.

"_Oh_!" Gabriella added with innocent alarm. "And now in front of an entire charity event."

It was a good thing Troy and Ryan appeared at that moment. Troy managed to stop Sharpay from yanking her own blonde hair out and Ryan managed to pull Gabbie away before she could drop-kick herself.

As the two stood, panting and barely restrained, they suddenly became aware of their audience. Even The Hedlunds were silent.

Sharpay blew a lock of hair off her forehead, trying to regain her composure.

"All right, folks!" she called. "That was just a little teaser from East High's next production. _The Wildcats Present: High School's A Jungle_! Coming soon to an auditorium near you!" Quiet, uncertain applause followed this.

Sharpay, feeling pleased at her cover-up and being a pure thespian at heart, gave an impromptu bow, which Gabbie mimicked awkwardly.

She pretended not to notice Ms. Darbus glaring at them from across the lawn.

**Gabriella**

"I'm not finished with her."

"Oh, yes you are!"

Ryan practically threw Gabriella into the passenger's seat of the hot pink convertible Mr. Evans had sent them.

After Ms. Darbus yelled at them she told Gabbie to go home. Apparently her presence would be "nothing but counter-productive".

"I cannot _believe_ you!" he hissed, holding the door with one hand and blocking her way with the other. "How many times are you going to fight before you figure out it _doesn't_ do any good?"

"It cheers _me_ up," she huffed.

He shook his head and slammed the door on her.

She waited for him to get into the car, arms folded against the flushes of embarrassment.

"No wonder Gabbie doesn't want me," he ranted, closing the door behind him. "How can she when my psycho sister is always trying to kill her?"  
"_She_ jumped on _me_! And Gabriella doesn't care if you have a psycho sister."

He looked rather assertive just then, huffing and puffing and glaring at her. She unconsciously shifted an inch closer to him.

"So what did she do to upset you _this_ time?" he asked with a hint of derision.

She sighed and shook her head. If only he knew. If only she could let him in on this whole thing…

Gabbie shrugged but did not allow her eyes to wander from his. She had never seen him truly angry before.

"_Meh. _The usual." He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry!" she added earnestly. "I didn't want to make a scene. Okay, I did. But it's in my nature, right?"

"Humiliating me is in your nature?"

She felt a pang in her chest as he rested his head on the dashboard with an air of defeat. Gabbie sidled over and touched his shoulder.

"_I'm sorry_," she murmured.

The tone of her voice made him look up. She was suddenly aware of the few inches of distance between them. She could make out the little lines indenting his lips…

Gabriella only remembered who she was supposed to be after Ryan leaped away from her kiss.

"What are you _doing_?!" The look of horror on his face made Gabriella as Sharpay flush with despair. What _was_ she doing?

"It's okay! _Don't_ freak out," she pleaded. "This isn't what you think…"

Ryan seemed to be trying to push himself back through the door without opening it.

"I think you tried to kiss me!"

"Well, I did but-"

"Sharpay, _what the hell_?" he exclaimed.

"Ryan, I'm _not_ Sharpay! I'm Gabriella in her body." He blinked slowly. She continued, hoping against all hope that he would not think her crazy. "Haven't you noticed how weird I've been acting lately?"

"_Weird_?" He gave a weak scoff. "You don't say! Well, I guess I only cottoned on at the part where you tried to _kiss_ me!"

Ryan finally seemed to remember the function of a door handle and tumbled back, out of the car.

Gabriella stared after him in desolation as he walked briskly down the street, glancing back every now and again as if ready to run should she pursue him.

When he was out of sight she rested her head on the dashboard. It was official.

This day had sucked.

**A/N: So she tried to kiss him (**_**shudder**_**)! But don't hold it against her. Let's not forget she isn't really his sister. But Ryan doesn't know that. Will he find out? **_**We shall see**_

**Anywho! Don't you dare leave this story without pressing the "GO" button! Even if it's to tell me I write like I'm on crack. Which I am certainly **_**not**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: You all make me so happy with your reviews! Thankee sai! **

**Now, methinks there are some three/four chappies left for this fic? If that. I can sort of feel the story drawing to a close, almost of its own accord. But we shall see! Sorry this chappie is kind of dialogue-heavy. That's something I need to work on. **

**Disclaimer: I just can't. **

**Chapter 18**

**I Should Tell You**

**Sharpay**

It was day two of Sharpay's incarceration.

She reclined on Gabriella's bed that Sunday afternoon, jotting down her thoughts and feelings in an old Hello Kitty notebook she had found. Said thoughts and feelings comprised mainly of insightful observations such as, '_Ms. Darbus looks like an over-stuffed owl when she's mad_', '_Mrs. Montez looked pretty in that brown jacket_' and '_Gabriella is a big fat stupid head_.'

Neither Darbus nor her mother until further notice had bought into her brilliant performance. They tag-teamed Sharpay as soon as the day was over, chiming that they were disappointed in her, she had killed the day and some such nonsense. Gabriella and Ryan escaped soon after the fight and she was glad not to have heard from them since.

After Darbus's tongue-lashing, Sharpay had been handed over to Mrs. Montez whose rhetoric was more or less the same, except for a "_You're grounded_" at the end.

But she did not mind that much. As angry as she was, there remained a sparkle in her eyes, a cheerful flush in her cheeks.

Michael Alman stayed long after everyone had gone- he had to help them clean up, of course. And while Sharpay endured Marie's commenting that "_Evans is one psychotic biatch", _the two washed dishes.

Mother Evans' presence had neither tainted their day, nor prevented Mr. Alman from asking Mrs. Montez if she would like to see that new Scorcese flick.

"Um…yes," she had said. "I might. But I'm not too big on going to movies alone."

"I meant with me," he had laughed.

"Oh! Then…yes! _Definitely yes_." And she murmured 'yes' a few more times after that, as if all the other words in the English language had deserted her.

Sharpay grinned and snapped the notebook shut. Her work was just about done.

"_Gabriella_?" A quiet knock on the door before Mrs. Montez entered. "You have a visitor," she said significantly and stepped out of the doorway.

Sharpay frowned, puzzled. She assumed that the stipulations of her grounding had excluded visitors.

Sharpay's heart sank when her rather sheepish-looking self entered the room.

**Gabriella**

"_Ryan, Ryan, Ryan_…"

Gabriella had stood outside of Ryan's bedroom, tapping on the door and calling his name for a half hour in a desperate attempt at seeing to him. It was only when Mrs. Evans appeared in her negligee, with her face covered in avocado, and hissed at her to go to bed that she finally retreated.

The next morning she tried just barging into his room in the hopes that it was unlocked. It was, but Ryan wasn't there.

And so she whiled away the hours, pacing Sharpay's bedroom.

Guilt and Gabriella did not mesh well. She wasn't used to feeling guilty about anything because she had never done anything worthy of great remorse. But kissing Ryan as Sharpay, that made her feel really _bad_.

She could understand his being freaked out. If she had a sibling that tried to kiss her she would run away, too. And if this was how Ryan reacted, she dreaded to think on Sharpay.

When it became clear that biting her nails and waiting would not bring him back, Gabriella decided to confess to Sharpay and enlist her help in finding him…

"_Hello, Sharpay_," said Mrs. Montez when she appeared in the doorway.

Gabriella was slightly taken aback, and not at her prim tone. Her mother looked different. Nothing had changed on the outside. The Sunday afternoon attire (khaki pants and a vest, hair tied back) remained the same. Her always prompt answering of the door remained the same. Her face remained the same. But she looked _different_. Good different.

It made Gabbie happy, above everything else she felt.

"Hello, Mrs. Montez," she said quietly. "I'm here to…_apologize_ to you. And Gabriella. For yesterday. It really wasn't her fault at all. I was just having a bad day and I took it out on her. I'm sorry."

A sigh. "I know you are, Sharpay. But sorry isn't good enough sometimes. I just wish you girls would bury the hatchet."

"_We'll try_. If that's what will make you happy we'll try."

Mrs. Montez seemed a little befuddled at her earnestness, but she let her in all the same.

"Gabriella? _You have a visitor_."

She closed the door behind them and Gabbie stared at the space where she had been for a moment.

"What do you want?" she heard her voice intone.

Gabbie turned slowly and exhaled. "_Sharpay_, I'm going to tell you something, and you're going to be mad. But please, don't attack me."

She narrowed her eyes. "I uh…I did something bad."

Sharpay swung her legs over so that they dangled on the side of the bed. "Really? No! Not Golden Gabriella!"

She bit back the sour retort on her tongue and chose a remorseful, pitiful whisper…

"I kissed Ryan."

**Sharpay**

Sharpay sat stationary for a moment. Then she blinked. "You what?"

The Gabriella in her body seemed to steel herself. "I kissed Ryan."

She shook her head slowly. "_I'm sorry_. I haven't cleaned out your ears in a while. You _what_ Ryan?"

"I kissed him, damn it!" Gabriella squealed.

Sharpay felt herself rise up off the bed, horror swelling up in her.

"You…kissed Ryan? As _me_? Ew!" She began to hop around feverishly. "Ew! Ew! Oh, sweet Lord, _ew_! What were you _thinking_?"

"I'm _sorry_!" Gabbie exclaimed. "I don't know what came over me. I just…I saw him. For the first time I really _saw_ him. And I like him and I don't know what to do about it!"

She shook her head slowly. "Oh, my- it's bad enough that you _like_ him! But now you have him thinking I'm all incestuous! Urgh!"

"Okay, stop freaking out! There's only one way to fix this, and that's to tell Ryan the truth. About the body swap and everything."

Sharpay hesitated. There really didn't seem to be any other course of action.

"_All right_. You're right. We find Ryan, tell him everything and…_gha_, I can't believe you would cheat on Troy!"

"Well, seeing as you _broke us up_, I didn't cheat!"

"So what? As soon as it's over you're off making out with another guy? You really are a _swell_ girlfriend, you know that?"

Gabriella settled her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to justify that with a response."

Sharpay would have loved to stay and debate Gabbie's loyalty, but her brother was out there right now, thinking she was all hot for him.

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Her tongue worked into the side of her cheek astutely. She didn't just have an idea. Sharpay knew _exactly_ where Ryan would be.

**Gabriella **

"The playground?" Gabbie inquired, quickening her pace to keep up with Sharpay's stride. "Why the playground?"

"_Hell if I know_," Sharpay said. "He just has this weird emotional tie to it."

The playground was a large, sandy patch complete with a swing set, monkey bars, a jungle gym and plastic rocking horses. It was located near East High, set up primarily for all the teacher's who didn't want to leave their children at home. Gabbie had never had any reason to visit it, but apparently this was Ryan's refuge. Maybe there were still things about him she had yet to find out.

Sure enough, they found him rocking gently on one the larger swings, staring at his shoes.

"Hey, Ry!" Sharpay as Gabriella spoke before Gabriella as Sharpay could.

Ryan stood and took a step back the minute he saw who he thought was his sister.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Don't run away again!" said Gabriella. "We're going to explain everything."

"Oh, right!" He nodded. "You're going to explain how you and Gabriella _swapped bodies_."

"It_ happened_. And _she's_ not Gabriella."

"You're insane."

"She's telling the truth," Sharpay piped up.

Ryan shook his head. "You're both insane!"

"Are we?" Sharpay challenged. "How did _I_ know about the Idina shirt? And how could she _not_ know if she were really me?"

He threw his hands up in the air. "Well, you're obviously conspiring against me! You got bored with torturing each other so now you're messing with _my_ head!"

"Oh, stop being so paranoid! Look. We'll prove it. Ask me something you know only _I_ could know! Something Sharpay would never have told Gabriella."

"Fine." He folded his arms. "What am I most afraid of?"

"Him from the Powerpuff Girls!"

"_Okay_. What's my greatest wish?"

She hesitated. "For our family to be together. Not just in one house. Actually _together_."

Ryan stared intently for a full minute before he spoke again. "This is can't be happening." He shook his head. "It's…_crazy_!"

"You are preaching to the converted."

Another lengthy silence before: "So it wasn't _you_-," he pointed at who he thought was Sharpay, "trying to make out with me."

Sharpay as Gabriella shook her head fervently. "That's a definite _no_!"

"It was _you_." He pointed at who he thought was Gabriella. "Which means _Gabriella_-" he went back to Gabriella as Sharpay, "is the one who tried to kiss me. Because _you're_ Gabriella. Even though you look like Sharpay. So all this time I thought I was with my sister, I was with _you_."

"Good job wrapping your mind around _that_ concept."

Gabriella nodded slowly and Ryan resolved to stare at her in silence, his expression blank.

"Everything looks different now…"

Mrs. Montez had only allowed Sharpay out of the house for a half hour and would be expecting her back soon. And so they took Sharpay back to the Montez residence in the pink convertible.

Outside of the house, Sharpay hugged her brother, and then Gabbie so that if Mrs. Montez was peering at them from inside the house, it would look like reconciliation.

Ryan and Gabbie drove back home in silence, but rather than being relieved, she felt tense.

When they pulled up into the driveway, he turned off the car and sat. Gabriella stared.

"Ryan? Don't you want to…_say_ anything?"

He gave her a smile that was not a smile at all. It made her uneasy.

"You don't want to hear what I have to say." He turned and stared out the window.

"But I _do_. I want to know what you think about this! How you feel. How you feel about me."

She could feel that he was about to speak and after a while he did.

"All this time," his voice was hollow, "I thought my sister was the conniving one. And you, sweet, gorgeous, charming you could do no wrong. But you're just as bad. You're worse. Because at least Sharpay doesn't pretend."

He turned to look at her and Gabbie found herself recoiling. She had expected him to say something nice.

"_Ryan_-"

"Every time I told you something personal," his voice was heavy with disbelief, "About how I…how I felt about you. You were just laughing at me, weren't you? _Poor Ryan _with the sad little crush, prancing around after Sharpay in his sparkly outfits! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I _like_ the way I dress?"

He had leaped so far from his previous train of thoughts that she was bewildered for a moment.

"Do you?" she said weakly.

"No! But you manipulated me. You took me _shopping_ for things _Gabriella_ would like to see me wear. And all along you knew!"

She tried, she really tried, but Gabbie could not keep her voice from trembling. "Nothing I did was meant to hurt you."

"Well, you seem to have an untapped gift for it!"

"Ryan.' She felt her eyes sting. "Don't be mad. You _can't_ be mad at me. I didn't want all this to happen. I didn't _want_ to like you."

"But you _don't_ like me. You betrayed me. Don't!" Gabbie tried to touch his arm but he recoiled as if she had burned him.

He turned and practically kicked his way out. Ryan slammed the door on her for the second time in two days.

In a way Gabriella was relieved. She would have hated for him to see her cry.

**A/N: Yep. He's **_**pretty**_** ticked off. But I think he has a right to it. He can't be expected to play Mr. Nice Spice forever! **

**So, yeah. That was quite a long one. Tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome, but it **_**must**_** be adorned with the smiley faces!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: I don't have much to say. **_**For once**_**. Except that this is just leading up to something more important, but it's not quite a filler. **

**Read, review, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:…**

**Chapter 19**

**Selfless Vs. Selfish**

**Sharpay**

If there was one good thing that came from 'The Incident' (she would now only refer to Ryan and Gabriella's kiss like so), it was that Sharpay realized she had a family of her own. Not a perfect family (quite an annoying one actually), but a family she loved, and was stuck with regardless. Above all else, she had Ryan, and he was in desperate need of his sister.

The two sat on the polished bleachers of the East High gym on a Monday morning. Ryan was on the bench below, staring up at her with thinly veiled amazement. He had quizzed her on just about everything involving their childhood until he was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sharpay and Gabriella had switched places.

"So this is for real?" he asked for the third time. "Really for real?"

She nodded.

He shook his head. "It's just so…"

"_Insane, crazy, nuts_…there aren't enough synonyms in the English language."

They laughed even though it wasn't particularly side-splitting. As soon as their hilarity died, though, Ryan's face drooped into a pout.

"It's so _humiliating_!" He pressed his hands to his brow.

"What is?"

Ryan shook his head once more. "All the stuff I said when I thought she was you…"

Sharpay stared at him in disbelief. It never occurred to her that in a weird way, Gabriella had been eavesdropping on their conversations.

"Ryan. _You didn't_."

"_I did._ I thought she was you!" he protested at her groan. "Say what you want about her, the girl can act."

"What did you talk to her about?"

"_Everything_. I talked to her about…_her_." He sighed. "She must've been having the biggest _laugh_ behind my back." He turned his round blue gaze up to her and Sharpay knew that for a moment, he wanted to pretend she _was_ Gabbie. "How could she?"

Sharpay looked down at her brother and felt a pang of pity. _Damn it_. He really was crazy about her. But he was also angry. Angry and hurt. Still, even Sharpay could see he was being a tad unreasonable. Ryan couldn't exactly blame Gabriella for wanting to hear all he had to say about her. She had done the same with Troy.

So as the wiser of the two (and what a turn around _that_ was), she should have been setting him straight, telling him to stop feeling sorry for himself and realize he had something good going. But then that might lead to him forgiving Gabbie, thereby starting a relationship with her. And then what? Sharpay would have to endure the pair of them holding hands everyday, making out in the hallways, and when they got home, she would hear of nothing but _Gabriella Montez_. Sharpay shook her head slightly. She couldn't take it!

"Well, I always knew what a little _phony_ she was. You didn't think she was _perfect_, did you?"

"No," he muttered. "I just thought…I thought she was better than that. You know what I mean?"

Shar bit her lip. "Yeah. I know."

Ryan sighed. "All of a sudden I _hate_ fortune cookies."

She patted him encouragingly on the back. "Let's get to class."

**Gabriella**

Gabbie gave a Troy a wide berth when she spotted him coming towards her in the hallway. He tried desperately to catch her eye, thereby luring her into talking to him, but she avoided his gaze.

Gabriella wanted Ryan. That much had been established. But that didn't mean she wanted to see Troy and _Sharpay_ together. She would have him date anyone in East High, Taylor, Ms. Darbus, _anyone_ but Sharpay.

"Sharpay! Over here."

Gabbie was making her way to the back of the class where she could effectively mope, when Martha Cox called to her. She was waving at her pleasantly.

"You wanna sit next to me?"

Not really. But she wasn't getting any of the hospitality she had wanted from Ryan (they had spent an entire day and night in the house silently glowering at each other), she was avoiding Troy, and Sharpay didn't really have many more friends. So Gabriella sat next to Martha.

"You okay, Shar?" was the first thing she asked. "You look a little down."

"A _little_ down?" she murmured. "I'm below sea level."

Martha pursed her lips into an apologetic half-smile. Gabriella marveled at it for a moment. Here was a girl who was genuinely concerned, and she had no duty to be. She wasn't trying to impress anyone or keep up a façade. She was simply Martha, The Nice Hip-Hop Girl.

It was only then that Gabbie realized she had never been this kind of nice. She had never been the real nice, but rather the obligatory nice. Maybe that was what upset Ryan so much.

"Well, whatever it is that's making you feel that way, I'm sure it'll be okay. And if you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears!"

Gabbie smiled a little. "_Thanks_. You'd make a really good counselor, Martha."

She blushed a little. "_Nah_. I'd rather be a friend. Less pressure!"

They laughed together as Mrs. Kirk, their Math teacher, glided into the room.

**Ms. Darbus**

It was starting to look as if Ms. Darbus had not done anything useful at all. The girls had walked several miles in each other's shoes and they _still_ seemed to despise each other. She sighed to herself. What if all this ended in disaster? What if it was her true failing as a teacher?

Darbus tapped a finger on her desk pensively. Perhaps the problem was that they had worn each other's shoes, but walked in completely different directions. What if she could get them to walk together?

She snorted wryly, continuing to drum. That would require force. Her finger tapping slowed to a halt. Force she was willing to use.

Inspiration struck Ms. Darbus so hard she reeled for a moment. Darbus flipped open the contraband cellphone her nephew had insisted on buying for her forty-somethingth birthday. She looked through the contacts labeled PARENTS, found the number and dialed.

She was starting to think no one was home when…

"_Yes_?"

"Mrs. Evans? _Hello_. It's Ms. Darbus. From East High? I have a proposal to make…"

**A/N: Martha was just inserted to cheer Gabbie up and make her realize some things about herself. The character can be sweet. Almost sickeningly, I find. But then, the world has made a cynic out of me!**

**I wasn't going to post this actually. I don't like to be overeager with my updating! But it just sprang to my mind and raced down into my fingers and I couldn't stop it. **

**And now, a shameless plug for Dernier Cri! Check out the AU Troypay, 'Whispers in the Dark'. I know that AUs can be the kiss of death (hence my not daring to write any) but the premise of this one is really cool. **

**Well. I think this has made up for the brevity of my initial A/N!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: 'Heeeyyyyyy macarena, AH-AY!' That song's been stuck in my head all day. Those are the only lyrics I know, though. The rest I just sort of mumble. And that's my random musing for the day!**

**Disclaimer:…**

**Chapter 20**

**Gabriella, Queen of the Desert**

**Sharpay **

Sharpay as Gabriella was utterly oblivious to Ms. Darbus' plot and so did not suspect a thing when the teacher asked to see her the next day, during her free period.

Apparently, Darbus had an old friend that lived just outside of Albuquerque. He was a former thespian and hoarder, currently in possession of some 'stunning' Shakesperian costumes and props.

"The school could always do with extra props," Ms. Darbus had said. "Better yet, these are _free_ extra props."

And since Sharpay was such a prominent member of the Drama Club, it was fitting that she come along with Darbus over the weekend to help load the stuff and sort through it back at school.

Sharpay joined Taylor and Kelsi in the cafeteria, explaining her absence apologetically. It was a rather tense gathering. Seemingly, the girls were upset with her for breaking up with Troy. Sharpay supposed she could see why.

As was the obligation, when the Head Girl and Boy of a group who were formerly dating broke up, loyalties were split as well. Something like a divorce.

Troy sat on one side of the mess hall with his share of friends; Chad, Zeke and Jason. Sharpay as Gabriella had her lot; Taylor and Kelsi. Hence the upset. They did not like the divide and could not understand for the life of them what had happened.

"_So_," said Taylor. "He couldn't say he loved you back…"

"And you reacted by breaking up with him?"

"Well, yeah." Sharpay could not care less if she had caused any awkwardness. Sometimes, friends just had to mind their own noses when it came to each other's relationships. "I mean…I put myself out there for him and he shut me down. He doesn't love me."

"Get real, Gabriella!" said Taylor. "We're _teenagers_. We don't know what love _is_!"

She shrugged. "Maybe not love in its _truest_ sense. But we have our own brand of love. And with our brand, you have to say I love you back. _Always_. Even if you don't mean it."

The two seemed unable to contest this for a moment. But then Kelsi spoke up meekly:

"_I don't like it when you two fight_."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud, we are _not_ fighting! Look." She rose swiftly. "Troy! Chad!" she called. "Will you guys come back to this table already? This is ridiculous!"

The boys swapped uncertain glances but soon stood and made their way over. They all sat slowly, Troy watching Sharpay.

"_Good_," she said, sitting as well. "Now we're all friends again. See, Troy? Just because we broke up, it doesn't mean we have to be weird about it, right?"

He nodded. "_Right_. You're totally right."

Chad looked between them and shook his head.

"This isn't fair. Even if you're not the perfect couple anymore, you _still_ get the perfect break up!"

Even Sharpay, who was not much of a fan of Mr. Danforth, laughed at this.

**Gabriella**

Stuck in the Evans' home, Gabriella thought she had an idea of how the USA and the Soviet Union felt during the Cold War. Two superpowers, so different and so alike, with nuclear weapons poised, ready to destroy each other at any moment.

In this atmosphere, you can imagine why Gabbie was so eager to get away from Ryan whenever possible. Therefore she jumped at the chance to go with Ms. Darbus to pick up some new props from her acting friend on Friday.

The week seemed to sense Gabbie's need for it to go faster, and out of pure spite, it dragged on. Mr. Evans popped in and out of their lives randomly, kissing them on the cheek before rushing to a meeting with some Japanese investors, grabbing a bread roll from the dinner table and dashing off to his study. Most of the time, though, he was only a fleeting distraction. He did not seem to notice the mood of the house. Neither did Mrs. Evans, although that was most likely a façade.

Eventually, Friday came around. Mrs. Evans was fine with them driving out with Ms. Darbus. She didn't suggest that Ryan tag along, probably because of their less than friendly demeanor towards each other.

When the final bell rang, Gabbie strolled out across the warm, expansive car park to the Darbus Bus. From a few meters away she spotted Sharpay in her body, leaning back against the car.

"_Great_," she muttered audibly.

Sharpay lifted her sunglasses (Gabriella thought they gave her the rather unfortunate appearance of a fly) and peered at her.

"Wonderful! Darbus recruited you too?"

"_Obviously_."

Gabriella sighed. She was getting cheesed off by these blatant attempts at making them to play nice. Nothing short of hallucinogens would get them to even smile at each other.

"Ah, _thank you_ for your promptness!" She was relieved when Ms. Darbus bustled into sight, donning her own shades. "Shall we head off?"

They shrugged and moved around to the passengers side. Both reached for the door handle and after glaring at each other, they plunged into a quarrel over who got the front seat.

The dispute had to be settled by the always conclusive competition of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Both chose rock the first two times. On the third go, Sharpay's Scissors gleefully cut up Gabriella's Paper.

Gabriella pulled back her hand resentfully and climbed into the back. This would be a long drive.

**Sharpay**

With the radio playing almost inaudibly in the background, the monotonous panorama of golden-brown sand dunes, and sun pouring down on her face through the window, Sharpay sunk easily into a doze.

Too soon it seemed, the car slowed to a halt and her eyes flickered open.

"Are we there yet?" she muttered as Ms. Darbus turned off the car.

"_Mm-hm_," Darbus hummed. She turned and stared into the back of the car. "Gabriella?" she trilled. "_Wake up, Gabriella_. Up, I say!"

With a little yelp, Gabbie came out of her own siesta and rubbed her eyes.

"We there?"

"_Yes_," Sharpay droned, as if she had not just asked the same question. "Hence the car _stopping_."

"Well, if you don't mind," Ms. Darbus cut off Gabbie's retort, "now that you've caught your twenty winks, I'll ask you to go up to that house there and knock. I just need to get something out of the glove compartment."

With a silent sigh Sharpay opened the door and rolled out of the car.

The house Ms. Darbus pointed to was more of a shack, planted in the sand near the side of the road.

"He must be some sort of hermit or something," she muttered to Gabriella, who was closing the door behind her. "Living all the way out here."

"A hermit that collects Shakesperian costumes," she replied as they walked round the car, up to the house. "_Quite a catch_…"

Sharpay snorted a little.

In her somewhat sleepy state, she lacked the energy required for sniping at her nemesis.

Shar rapped on the wooden door a few times and waited. No response. A few more knocks. Nothing. Sharpay called as clearly as she could to whoever was inside that they had come to collect the costumes. When _that_ didn't produce any sign of life she proceeded to pound on the door. Gabriella grabbed her wrist.

"Let _me_."

"_What_?" Sharpay sneered. "Do you have some sort of superior _knocking_ technique that draws out recluses?"

She ignored this and proceeded to knock politely.

"Hello? Is there anybody in there?"

"Obviously _not_." Sharpay turned from the door. "Ms. Darbus? Are you sure he's home? _Ms. Darbus_?"

She narrowed her eyes in bewilderment when the woman did not reply. She was still in the car, staring at them. Sharpay made her way down the porch steps, calling her name and sensing all the while that something odd was afoot. Gabriella trailed behind.

"_Ms. Darbus_," she repeated. "Didn't you hear me?"

The teacher smiled and suddenly tossed her a pair of keys, which she barely caught in time.

"I heard you, Sharpay. And there _isn't_ anybody home. But for the rest of the weekend, _you two_ are going to be staying here."

Sharpay's shook her head. "I am _not_ following."

"_Well_," Ms. Darbus sighed and peered over her glasses at them. "I'm afraid this has been a bit of a set-up. Getting you girls out here was all part of the plan, you see. There _is_ no reclusive former actor with free props. I _lied_, you might say."

"_Why_ would you do that?" Gabbie asked.

"Well, I think what you two _really_ need is to spend some quality time together."

Shar's eyes widened and filled with comprehension.

"So _what_? You wanted to drive us out into the wilderness and just _leave us_ here? You can't do that!"

"Of course, I can! You don't have any money, so a bus is out of the question. There is food here, hot water, and electricity. So the best option really is for you to just _stay_."

"_Or_ we could call our mothers."

"_Yes_. Except I called them first. And if you contact them now you'll find that they were both in on this. Who do you think packed your bags?"

"Bags? _What bags_?"

She nodded her head at two duffel bags, one black and pink, the other green, plopped down outside the car.

Sharpay narrowed her eyes. "You. Are. Evil. Ms. Darbus."

"Well, don't you want to get back in your own bodies?" There was a trace of desperation in her voice. "The fortune _said_ you have to find selfless love. I know that's a lot to ask, but surely a little friendliness isn't out of the question!" And she started the car, looking quite put out.

Gabriella lunged at the vehicle suddenly and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Sharpay merely watched in horror as Darbus turned the car around, Gabbie clinging to it all the while, and proceeded to drive off.

"You might be a teacher, Ms. Darbus!" she yelled, still jogging after her. "But you will _not_ escape retribution! This is _very_ unreasonable behavior!"

Shar shook her head slowly, looked down at the keys in her hand and then turned back to the house. Ms. Darbus had said something about food…

**Gabriella**

Gabriella stood in the middle of the road, huffing and puffing. The woman had driven off. She had seriously driven off and _left_ them there. Abandoned! Just like the little boys in Lord of the Flies! Except there had been no plane crash and they weren't on an island and if they had to resort to cannibalism, Gabbie would sooner chew off her own leg than taint her palate with Sharpay's flesh.

She shouldered her duffel bag and watched Sharpay stroll back up to the shack.

"So you're just going to _accept_ this?" Gabriella demanded, following her through the sand.

"Well, unless we _walk_ back, I don't see any other choice!"

She groaned. "This is ridiculous! I mean, we aren't _that_ bad, are we? Sure we fight -_a lot_- and we sabotage each other's relationships and put poisonous spiders in each other's lockers, but all that's just petty teenage girl stuff! We deal with it in our own way."

"_Right_," said Sharpay. "They should just leave us to fight it out."

"_Exactly_. And I honestly don't believe our mothers would agree to this."

They reached the house and Sharpay began to unlock the door.

"Well, _I_ honestly don't believe Darbus would do this without their consent. They're worried."

"Mothers worry too much."

The door creaked obnoxiously as they pushed it open and stepped inside.

There was only one word that could sufficiently describe the place: _basic_. A basic kitchen with wooden cabinets and counters, a basic fridge humming quietly in the corner. A basic living room space with shabby sofas and flimsy yellow curtains over the large square windows. A dim hall that led down to what were probably bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Well, it's not the Hilton," Sharpay sighed, dropping her bag by a chair, "but it's comfy."

"Right. In the same way a _bomb shelter_ is comfy."

Sharpay strolled over to the kitchen and Gabriella went to the window. She peeled back a curtain and stared outside. All she could see was hot sand, mountain peeks and the long black strip of road.

"It's so _isolated_."

"Isolation is therapeutic." She watched Sharpay in her body perusing the fridge. "Oooh, 7 Up!" She pulled out a can and opened it with a hiss and a snap. "And at least here you can't _sink your claws_ into my brother's heart."

Gabriella's jaw clenched, almost involuntarily. "You don't understand anything about that."

Sharpay leaned against the counter. "I understand you _crushed_ him, and now he hates you. With any luck Darbus will leave you out here for good!"

She felt as if her stomach had been filled with lead. Sharpay had no idea what she was talking about. She didn't even care that Gabbie genuinely liked Ryan. The indignant prickle of tears strengthened behind her eyes.

"I think I'll try walking home," she murmured and moved hastily towards the door.

Sharpay called to her as she walked out: "Oh, you _cannot_ be serious. Come _on_, Gabriella, it was just a joke! A cruel and spiteful joke intended to hurt your feelings, but still!"

Gabriella regretted her rashness as soon as her sneakers sunk into the sand. It was oppressively hot, and there was no way she would make it back to Albuquerque on foot. But going back to Sharpay was not much of an option either.

"Well, enjoy your slow and painful death by heat stroke!" her nemesis was still calling. "I hope the buzzards leave your bones alone so we can have a burial!"

Gabbie took off her leopard print tracksuit top and tied it around her waist resolutely. She smiled a little.

Sharpay seemed not to realize that if Gabbie perished, her own body would go as well. With that morbidly satisfying thought in mind, she made for the road.

**AN: Well, as you can obviously tell, I've been spending this weekend updating. **_**Yeah**_**. Don't have much of a social life at this point. **

**Now for some unfathomable reason, Lindsay Lohan seems to be imprinted on my subconscious. It was only when I was half-way through this chapter that I realised it sounds like a scene from The Freaking Parent Trap! You know when they stuck them up in the log cabin together? I'm sorry. I really am.**

**Review anyway!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Andy Hurley is the love of my life! Fall Out Boy owns! Just thought I'd get that off my chest. **_**Gawd**_**, I need a blog… **

**Disclaimer:…**

**Chapter 21**

**Candles and Communication**

**Sharpay**

It was times like these when Sharpay wished she was pure evil. Because if she were pure evil, she would have left Gabriella to wander in the New Mexican badlands until she collapsed.

Unfortunately, a significant portion of Sharpay- about two quarters of her- was good. And so she could only sit in the living room for three minutes, tapping her feet on the carpet, before pushing herself up off the couch and jogging out of the house.

She spotted Gabriella's figure disappearing into the distance and called her name. Either she didn't hear or she was pretending not to because she continued to walk. Sharpay groaned and ran out onto the road.

"Montez!" she yelled. "Get back here, _now_!"

No response. Sharpay rolled her eyes. She was going to have to chase her. Being two quarters good was lame.

She was but a few meters away and Gabriella continued to ignore her.

"_Gabriella_! Gabriella, you dumb bi-"

"_What_?"

She stopped in her tracks and whirled round furiously, Sharpay's blonde hair flying about her face. Shar was pleased to note she looked totally cute when she was angry. She walked the rest of the distance so that they could converse without shouting.

"_Where_ do you think you're going?" And she settled a hand on her hips.

"I don't know, Sharpay!" she began to walk backwards, still glaring at her. "_Roswell_. Maybe I'll hitch a ride with some runaway aliens."

She rolled her eyes, keeping the same pace. "You can't just leave me back there by _myself_."

"Oh, can't I? 'Cause I'm kind of doing that right now."

She sighed. Sharpay didn't really want to go into this but…"You're mad about Ryan, aren't you?"

The Gabbie in her body stopped walking. "Yes. Actually. I'm mad that you don't care about your brother's happiness."

"I _do_ care about Ryan's happiness!"

"_No_. You don't. Because if you _did_, you would've convinced him to stop being such a _baby_ and realize that there's a girl who really likes him! Who kind of loves him."

Sharpay narrowed her eyes to disguise the uncertainty in them. Montez may have been a good actress but she wasn't good enough to fake this. Sharpay could see that she meant what she said, probably because she felt the same desperate longing for a certain Wildcat.

"You think I don't care about _Ryan's_ happiness"- what could she do but start another argument- "Well, I could say the same about you."

"What are you talking about?" She really had this backward strutting thing down.

"_Mrs. Montez_. She's basically been celibate since your dad-"

"_Don't_."

"-because she's afraid of how _you'd_ be affected by her dating. But you can't expect her to be your mum and nothing else. She's more than just Mrs. Montez and there's this really great old dude who can see that. He must be the best thing that's happened to her in years!"

Gabriella stopped walking and seemed to struggle for words. Her mouth was clamped shut and her eyes were livid, so Sharpay decided it would be best not to wait on her response.

"_Look_, we should continue this conversation back there. You know, where the food and shelter is? We can't expect to have a pleasant conversation in this heat."

"Who says I want to have a pleasant conversation."

"Gabriella!" She was truly exhausted now. "I _can't_ fight you forever."

She folded her arms. "You don't have to fight me forever. Just the last two years of high school."

Sharpay shook her head. This was hopeless.

**Gabriella**

What _was_ this strange emotion? Pity? Remorse? Gabriella was not sure, but something compelled her to let go of her anger as she watched Sharpay's shoulders slump in defeat.

She uncrossed her arms. "_Okay_. We'll go back. But only because I'm craving Pepsi."

Sharpay scoffed in the face of her pride, turned and walked back up the road. Gabriella trailed behind, trying not to let the blonde's words evoke any serious soul-searching in her. It was difficult. She had given her a lot to chew on…

_Basically been celibate…more than just Mrs. Montez…best thing that's happened to her in years…mum and nothing else… _

What was it that was keeping Gabriella from accepting Mr. Alman? An unwillingness to share? The anxiety about how his presence might erode her father's memory? Pure grossed-outness at the thought of her mother making out with someone?

Maybe a combination of all three. But whatever the problem, the last person she could see herself talking about it with would be Sharpay.

Unfortunately, Sharpay happened to be her last option at that point in time.

The house had a rather rusty but efficient air conditioning system installed and Gabbie felt a thrill of relief as soon as she stepped back inside.

She grabbed a Pepsi and made her way towards the hall where she intended to select the better bedroom.

"Wait a minute!" Gabriella turned back to see the Sharpay in her body glaring at her.

"What?" she asked evenly.

"We're _supposed_ to be communicating."

She smiled sweetly. "Let's not and say we did."

Gabriella surveyed her cell with vague distaste. It would have to do. The room comprised of a bed (with a metal frame and rather thin-looking mattress), a ratty beige carpet and an old white bureau in the corner.

She ran a hand over its surface. Well, at least she had a place for Sharpay's extensive skin care collection.

Now all she needed was a big enough closet to lock up _Sharpay_.

**Sharpay**

Thank the heavens for cable TV!

Sharpay lay on the floor that evening, propped up by a pillow, a plate of corn chips in her vicinity, with her eyes glued to the ancient TV set on the floor of the living room.

After idly surfing channels, her heart had finally been claimed by a French soap opera with superb voice-dubbing. _Le Coeur Du Poisson_, the tale of a rich French family, the Castels, living in a manor by the sea.

Currently, the beautiful daughter of Monsier and Madame Castel, Claire, was falling for a fisherman's son, Jean-Girard. However, Jean-Girard was way beneath Claire in the social hierarchy, and besides, he was already committed to his homely but sweet childhood friend, Sophie. Meanwhile, Monsier Castel was facing bankruptcy and was therefore at the mercy of his malevolent cousin, Mersault, who wanted to buy Castel's business. In the hopes of securing a future for his only daughter, Monsieur Castel promised Claire to the wealthy son of Monsieur Dulaine, owner of a shipping company.

Sharpay sighed. She didn't ever want to watch English-speaking actors again.

Suddenly, a pair of jean-clad legs stepped in front of her, obscuring the screen. Sharpay looked up to see herself glaring down.

"Um…do you _mind_? Jean-Girard is proclaiming his love for Sophie!"

"You've been watching this all day," Gabriella's whiny tone underlined Sharpay's snarl. "My turn."

"Oh, and what am _I_ supposed to do while you watch the Tellitubbies?"

"Amuse yourself!" And she snatched the remote. Sharpay's hand shot up to grab it back, jostling the bowl in the process and scattering corn chips.

"_Now_ look what you've done," she growled, tugging at the remote.

"I didn't do _anything_. And those are bad for my _figure_ anyway." With a mighty wrench, Gabriella stumbled back, the remote clutched in her hands. "Ha!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

A second later, the room went pitch black. Gabbie shrieked into the darkness.

Despite her horror, Sharpay sneered. "Not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"_Shut up_."

Sharpay stumbled to her feet. _Unbe-freaking-lievable_. Of all the times and in all the places to have a power outage, this was the worst. Aside from the hair dresser's, of course.

The next five minutes were spent fumbling around for candles and butting heads, literally. It was starting to seem like matches were the only thing Ms. Darbus had forgotten to buy for them, when Sharpay reached down into a kitchen drawer and found the small cardboard box.

She struck a match and was instantly illuminated by its fiery little glow. Gabriella stumbled towards her with a cluster of candles she had found in her room.

"_You look like a floating head_," she muttered.

For once, Sharpay opted out of a dispute.

They stuck the candles on top of the TV and on the window sills before plopping down on separate couches. Neither was willing to admit they were too scared to be by themselves.

Sharpay sighed and rested her head on her fist.

"I think this is Fate's way of telling us we need to talk."

**Gabriella**

"Well, where do we start?" She felt more patronizing than genuinely willing.

"Let's talk about Mr. Alman."

"_No_."

"Well, what do _you_ want to talk about?"

Gabriella sighed and drew her bottom lip in between her teeth. Selfless love was way passed possible, but if they could at least establish some civility, there might be hope of getting back in her body, back in her life. And it started with communication.

"Let's talk about Ryan."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Fine. _Let's talk about Ryan_."

Gabriella launched right into the question that had been plaguing her since Monday, ignoring Shar's lack of enthusiasm.

"What did he say to you? About me? When you talked to him."

"_That's private_."

"We've lived as each other for weeks! _Nothing's_ private anymore."

She watched Sharpay sigh resignedly. "Oh, what do you _think_ he said? He's _humiliated_, how could you _do_ this to him? He's completely absorbed by you, if you must know the truth."

She fought a smile resolutely. Yes. The truth made her feel good. But at the same time…

"I wasn't laughing at him, Sharpay," she said. "I don't think his feelings for me are funny at all."

"Oh, but you just _lapped it up_, didn't you? Knowing he was all googly-eyed over you."

"Well, don't act like you're not happy that Troy's all googly-eyed over you." She noted Sharpay's sudden smugness but forced herself to move past it. "You know, that don't you, Sharpay? You know I like him. And you told him, right?"

She suddenly became fascinated by her cuticles. "Not _exactly_."

"Not _exactly_?"

"Well, I kind of…called you a phony."

"Sharpay!"

"But you are a phony!"

"I am _not_. Okay, to a certain degree I am. But not about this. Not with Ryan. It was like, when he thought I was you I got to see a side of him that I wouldn't have otherwise. He wasn't sweet insecure Ryan. He was smart, funny, sensitive Ryan. But either way, I love all the Ryans! If that makes any sense."

Sharpay did not respond. Rather, she stuck her tongue in her cheek shrewdly. It didn't matter much to Gabbie. This communicating thing, while not all together pleasant, was proving to be a good vent for all she had been feeling. And she could see that Sharpay was jonesing to get some things off her chest, as well. So for the sake of fairness Gabbie said…

"So what do you want to say?"

Surprisingly, Sharpay did not rush into a heated rhetoric, but resumed the inspection of her nails. Finally, she looked up.

"Gabriella." Her tone made her uneasy. "How did your dad die? I mean," she said hastily at the look that had most likely darkened Gabbie's face, "I should know, right? In case your mum wants to talk about it."

"_She doesn't_." Gabriella was suddenly aware of a heavy weight on her chest and no matter how much she breathed, it continued to oppress her. She was thankful when Sharpay did not persist, but then there was nothing left for them but silence.

It was then that Gabriella was reminded of her childhood, of pulling off band-aids. Slow and steady at first, but then, on realizing this was only more painful, ripping it off in one go.

"He had stomach cancer." She thought of the ugly little cut, still stinging and glossy pink, but healing all the same.

"_I'm sorry_."

"You don't have to pretend to care."

"I fake a lot of things, Gabriella. Zeke will tell you that for sure. But caring isn't one of them."

Gabbie shrugged, trying to give off an air of nonchalance and failing.

She was done talking for tonight, and so they said nothing else until the power returned.

But Fate wasn't done with Gabriella and Sharpay.

**A/N: Sorry, I got a bit carried away with my plot for **_**Le Coeur Du Poisson**_**! I was once an avid soapie-watcher. **

**Anywho, R&R, peoples! Our story is drawing steadily to a close. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: Every time I feel like the story's ending a new idea pops into my head! Still. We're a lot closer to a conclusion than we were ten chapters ago! If that makes any sense. Which I don't think it does.**

**So! A new OC shall make an appearance. I hopey you likey.**

**Disclaimer: I **_**dare**_** them to sue me…**

**Chapter 22**

**Fate Wears A Cowboy Hat**

**Sharpay**

Her mother could be so considerate sometimes. Sharpay had rifled through the bag Mrs. Evans packed for Gabriella, and was elated to find her polka dot bikini.

Shar figured that while they were out in the desert, she might as well get some tannage. Even though it wasn't for her own body, she loved the feeling of ultraviolet rays warming the skin.

Sharpay promised Gabriella the TV for the rest of the day, in exchange for her helping to move one of the couches out onto the sand. It worked well for both, mostly because they were out of each other's sight for a while.

Shar reclined with her sunglasses on, allowing her mind to fill up with emptiness. This little mini-break really wasn't so bad. She could stay here another few…

She was just dozing off when a long shadow slid over her. Sharpay sighed.

"What do you _want_, Gabriella? You're blocking my light."

"Hey." Sharpay's eyes popped open at the dozy, foreign voice. That was definitely _not_ her.

She lifted the shades slowly, uncertainly, and felt a strangled cry escape her at the stranger standing beside her.

He was tall and gangly, his frame overwhelmed by a camouflage jacket, laden with politically aware badges. His jeans were torn and faded, his sneakers moldy. On his head he wore a cowboy hat, from under which stringy blonde hair hung. Sharpay would have clucked her tongue at this walking fashion disaster had she not been so scared he was going to pull a knife on her.

"Who the hell are you?" she whisper-screamed.

"Oh." His long face remained impassive, eyes blinking slowly behind horn-rimmed glasses. "I'm Ty."

Sharpay sat up slowly on the couch, feeling horribly exposed all of a sudden.

"Um…Gabriella?" she called. No response. "_Gabriella_!"

"What?" She heard her own voice whine from inside the house.

"Could you get out here please?"

"I'm watching _Le Coeur Du Poisson_!"

"Forget the _freaking_ soapie! We have a…visitor."

A pause before Gabriella as Sharpay hurried out of the house. She stood on the porch uncertainly while Shar tried to bring her over with a discreet inclination of her head.

"Hello. Who are you?" she inquired.

"Hi." He droned and gave a small wave. "I'm Ty."

Gabriella blinked. "Um…what are you doing out in the desert, Ty?"

He shrugged. "Just kinda like, _walking_."

Sharpay stared around. Well, obviously. There wasn't a car in sight. Before either girl could think of anything to say or do, Ty asked:

"Do you guys have, like, anything to drink? I'm kinda dying of thirst here." He sounded more like he was dying of dullness.

"Well…_yes_."

Sharpay shot Gabriella an incredulous look from the couch. She shrugged in alarm and stepped aside as Ty shuffled past her, into the house.

**Gabriella**

Gabbie stared at him from the kitchen. He was seated at a safe distance on a couch, slurping 7 Up and staring at the TV.

Gabbie stood close to the knife drawer. She felt a strange desire to protect their invaded territory. Also, it was possible that Ty was a homicidal lunatic, so knives were always useful.

Sharpay as Gabriella clambered up into the house. But instead of joining Gabbie in the kitchen, she hurried towards her room.

"Uh…where are you _going_?" She could not keep the panicked pitch from her voice.

"To change into something more decent!"

"I'll come with you!"

Shar paused. "Uh…no." As she slammed the door, Gabriella hated her all over again.

Ty had not looked away from the TV once. She was startled to hear him drone suddenly:

"These French actors are good."

She nodded. "_Mm-hm_."

Silence as Sophie sobbed at her father's feet. Gabriella watched him uncertainly. What was he doing wandering in the desert?

"Um…so, Ty. Why are you all the way out here?"

He shrugged. "It's kinda, like, a long story."

Thankfully, Sharpay had not left her to die. At that precise moment she re-entered in a t-shirt and jeans. She stood on the other side of the kitchen counter and leaned back against it, surveying the house guest.

"Well, I've got the rest of the weekend to hear it."

Ty sighed. "Well, my parents came back from this anniversary dinner thing, right? And they walked in on me when I was like, _jamming_ Oblivion on my computer. So my dad gets all pissed, right? He's like, _When are you gonna make something of yourself, Ty? You can't make _anything_ of yourself sitting in front of the computer all day. _And I was like, _That's what they said to Bill Gates._ And then he was all, _Get up or get out._ And I was like, _Fine_. So I got out. And for a little while it was like, _road trip_. But then my car was like, _no gas_. So I ended up ditching it and just walking. I thought I would totally die out here. But then I found you guys."

Gabriella exchanged a glance with Sharpay. Had his brain been friend by drugs, or did he talk like this normally?

"So…what are you going to do now?"

Ty shrugged and sunk further down into the couch, his gaze retreating to the TV. "Guess I'll just hang here with you guys."

Her eyes flew open. "But you can't do that!"

"Why not? _You_ live here?"

"Well. Not _exactly_…"

"_Right_," he intoned. "So you're kinda like squatters. And I am, too. So you can't just like, kick me out, right?"

Gabbie rolled her eyes. He was a little annoying.

"But there are only two bedrooms," said Sharpay.

"That's cool. I'll crash on the couch. I'm used to it. This one time, my friend, Vance had this totally bodacious party…"

Gabriella shook her head. Ms. Darbus would pay.

**Sharpay **

Sharpay stood stirring the instant mac and cheese. She barely paid attention to the awkward conversation going on behind her.

Gabriella and Ty sat on either side of the counter, place mats and bowls before them. After a feverishly whispered dialogue, they decided that Ty did in fact seem like a harmless idiot. He was also a harmless idiot that needed to be fed. So for this one night they would be a friendly trio of squatters.

"So, Sharpay." She stared deep into the pot of yellow mush. "Kinda weird name for a Latina, huh?" More absent stirring.

"Sharpay," said Gabriella deliberately. "_Sharpay_!"

Shar blinked and turned round. "Oh. Right!"

Ty had remembered her calling Gabriella 'Gabriella' and understandably assumed that was her given name. Therefore Sharpay was now back to being 'Sharpay'. It was weird after all this time.

"Yeah," she said. "It is." But she was still in Gabbie's body.

"I woulda thought _you'd_ be Sharpay," he nodded his head to the blonde white girl that was Gabriella.

"Well," she shrugged, turning back to her cooking. "Our parents are kind of nuts."

She took the pot of the stove with her oven mitt and began to dole out yellow glop.

"Wow," said Gabriella slowly. "I didn't think it was possible to mess up _instant maccaroni_."

"Shut up," she snapped, serving Ty. "If you don't like it, you can find something else."

She made a face. "_Fine_. I will." Gabbie hopped off her stool and began to search the kitchen cabinets. Sharpay glowered at her as she dished out her own portion.

Gabbie came back with a silver pack of Oreos.

Ty eyed her wistfully. "I like Oreos…"

"_Beggars can't be choosers_," Sharpay said stiffly and sat down.

He shrugged a little and hunched over his bowl. They sat in silence for several minutes before Ty looked up at the two of them and spoke.

"You guys don't like each other very much, huh?"

"_You're very perceptive, Ty_," said Shar, stabbing into her bowl.

He floated above her sarcasm. "So how come you're out here together?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Our parents and our teachers stuck us here in the hopes that we'd realize we actually like each other. They think it imperative that we be friends. We're kind of destructive when we fight."

"Why do you fight?"

"Uh…" said Shar, "because we don't _like_ each other?"

"Yeah, I know. But like, _why_?" he asked profoundly.

The two girls stared at each other across the counter.

"Because she's a sanctimonious little whiner," Sharpay began.

"Because she's a scheming attention-whore."

Ty's dreamy gaze flickered from one to the other as they glared. "Maybe it's not that you don't like each other," he said slowly. "Maybe…you just like, envy each other."

Sharpay snorted. "And what could _I_ want that she has?" A lot actually. And on the other side of the scale, Sharpay had a Ryan that Gabriella desperately coveted.

"What makes you say that, Ty?" Gabriella seemed genuinely interested.

"Well…my sister in college? She used to fight with girls all the time when she was in high school. And she said a lot of the hating came from one girl having something that the other didn't. So all the antagonism and stuff just came from envy. And the problem was that neither girl wanted to admit they felt like…_inadequate_."

Sharpay stared down into her bowl, trying desperately to conceal the raw nerve being exposed in her.

After a lengthy silence, Gabriella spoke.

"You're very perceptive, Ty."

Shar looked up and studied her. She really meant it.

**Gabriella**

Early the next morning, Gabriella shuffled barefoot, out of her room and towards the kitchen. She stopped to glance into the living room area and proceeded to walk on. Gabbie did a sudden double take. The living room was empty.

She walked out onto the porch and stared around. No Ty in sight. She felt an inexplicable, quiet sort of sadness. After an amazing night of junk food and cable TV, he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. _Typical male_.

Gabriella drifted back into the living room and it was only then that she noticed a yellow post-it note on top of the TV. She skipped over, plucked it off and read.

_Hey, guys_

_Well, by the time you read this I'll be pretty far gone. I called my parents and they were all like, worried. They're driving out to come pick me up. I'm pretty sure they'll let me play Oblivion for as long as I want now. Thanks for the hospitality and everything. Sorry, I kind of took most of your food. But I left some Oreos and corn chips and orange juice cause its healthy. You said that Darby chick is picking you up today so I figured it was okay. _

_Hope you guys like, kiss and make up. And maybe film it. But whatever._

_Peace_

_Ty_

Gabbie scurried over to the kitchen and sure enough, only the Oreos, corn chips and OJ remained of their weekend food supply. She shook her head slowly, and made her way to Sharpay's bedroom.

She walked in without knocking and Shar's snores ceased abruptly.

"Don't knock or anything," Sharpay groaned at the intrusion.

Gabbie thrust the note into her face, lips pursed.

Sharpay took it and read in a low murmur.

"That _ass_!" she exclaimed finally. Shar looked up to see Gabriella, shaking with silent giggles. She bit her lip against a smile and shook her head. "_You know_…I think I'm kinda…gonna like…_miss him_."

"Yeah," she found herself tittering. "He was totally like_…awesomesauce_."

Like water from a dilapidated dam, random feverish laughter burst forth from them.

They were still giggling vaguely when Ms. Darbus came to get them a few hours later.

"Is everything…_all right_, girls?" she asked anxiously as she helped load their bags.

"Sure, Ms. Darbus," said Gabriella. "We're okay."

**A/N: One chapter to go! YIPPEE! Sorry to secret castle (she's got a great Troypay fic by the way, really original!) who mentioned it's more fun when Gabs and Shar are getting into trouble. I couldn't think of a way to cause much mayhem when they were stuck out in the desert! I don't think there's anything less interesting than sand.**

**So I just opted to use Ty as a final means for getting them to realise they **_**don't**_** actually hate each other all that much. **

**R & R, R & R, R & R!!!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Okay. I said one chapter. But it was one LOOOONG chapter! So I've had to split it in two. And now you're rolling your eyes thinking, 'Can't this thing just **_**end**_** already?' And I'm thinking the same! Mad Monday has a life of it's own now. But I promise it's just these two! And then an epilogue. And then we're done. **

**Disclaimer:… **

**Chapter 23**

**Selfless- Part Un**

**Sharpay**

"_Mummy, I'm hooooome_!"

Sharpay slammed the door behind her and walked through the foyer, dropping her bag by the stairs.

"I am _so_ giving you the silent treatment after dinner for what you did!" 

Shar halted in her steps when she walked into the kitchen. It was empty. She had expected to find Mrs. Montez bustling around in preparation for her glorious return. But nothing. She traced back into the living room.

"Mum? _Mum_?"

She frowned. The car had been in the driveway. So where was she?

"_Mrs. Monte_-"

The hasty thump of footsteps down the stairs made Sharpay look up. Mrs. Montez was descending, sweeping hair out of her face vaguely. Shar watched her as she began to set her face into a smile. Something was wrong.

"Gabriella! I'm so sorry, sweetie, I didn't hear you call." She pulled her into a hug.

Sharpay disengaged swiftly and began to scrutinize her. The smile was in place, but it stopped before her glistening eyes. Her cheeks were flushed. "Were you…_crying_?"

For a second, the smile quavered. Mrs. Montez turned and marched towards the kitchen. "I totally forgot to make you something to eat!" Well, that was a first. "Did Ms. Darbus give you good food? I hope it didn't all come in some sort of wrapping."

"Well, actually-"

"What do you want?" she breathed, bringing pots and pans out of the cabinets. "Chicken? Steak?"

Sharpay shook her head slightly, baffled. "Well, I really liked those empanadas. The ones we had at Mr. Almans?"

She had barely finished speaking before her Mrs. Montez froze. She placed her hands on the counter and bowed her head slowly. Sharpay's eyes widened. She had thought that maybe these were menopausal mood swings or something, but now she knew the problem.

"Mum?" she stepped forward. "Did something happen with Mr. Alman?"

Sharpay started when Mrs. Montez burst into tears all of a sudden. She rushed over to the woman, took her by the arm and pulled her over to the kitchen table. They sat, her mother until further notice trying to suppress the sobs and hiccupping awkwardly as a result.

"It was all so stupid," she murmured, staring into her lap. "Why was I getting so caught up in him? _You_ should be my number one priority! I'm sorry, Gabriella."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! _What_ are you talking about?"

Mrs. Montez stared around the room desolately. "I called him today. I wanted to ask if he'd like to see another movie because we had such a nice time before. _That's_ why I didn't do dinner today," she said, as if afraid she would be stoned to death for failing to cook consistently. "I thought you could spend the evening with Marie. And that must seem horrible when you only just got back," she groaned.

"It's _okay_," she said hastily. "Get to the bit that made you cry."

She sniffed a little. "Well, when I called him…_Sarah_ answered."

Sharpay's face clouded over but she pretended not to know. "Who's Sarah?"

"Mrs. Evans. She _answered his phone_. And I asked her, not very politely, what she was doing at his house. But she said he was at _her_ house. She said they were spending the day together and would I be so polite as to not call him when he was _engaged_."

Sharpay faltered, trying to conjure a reason for Mr. Alman being at her family's house. He couldn't be a player, could he? He seemed so nice…

"Well she obviously lured him there under false pretences!"

"Oh, and he had _no_ choice but to go?"

Sharpay slapped a hand to her forehead in despair. "He likes _you_," she said. "Mrs. Evans is _married_. He doesn't want her crusty, sundried ass!"

"_Don't_ talk about people like that, Gabriella." But a small smile flickered across her face all the same. Resolutely, she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "But it doesn't matter. It doesn't."

But it did. It mattered a lot. And what kind of matchmaker would Sharpay be if she didn't try to fix this mess?

As soon as Mrs. Montez got up to go and wash her face, Sharpay pulled out the cellphone.

**Gabriella**

She waved goodbye to Ms. Darbus as she drove off, turned back to the Evans house and sighed. Gabbie trudged up the driveway, already picturing a sulky Ryan waiting inside.

She hesitated before knocking. Her knuckles were going for the fifth rap when the door swung open. Gabriella blinked in surprise when she saw Mr. Alman towering over her in the doorway. What was he doing at Sharpay's house?

"_Sharpay_." There was something sheepish and agitated underlying his pleasant, gravelly tone. "I was just leaving."

"Why were you here in the first place?" It probably sounded rude, but she hadn't meant it to.

He tugged at the collar of his blue shirt vaguely. "Uh…your mother had a business proposition. Nothing I'm interested in unfortunately. It was nice seeing you again," he added before she could quiz him further. He slid past her and strode away briskly.

Gabriella watched him drive off before shaking her head, turning and walking inside. Another strange sight greeted her there.

Ryan and Mrs. Evans stood by the stairs, not so much glaring at each other, but staring intently, as if trying to read each other's minds. Mrs. Evans turned and stared at Gabriella as if only just noticing her there. She didn't say anything, opting to turn and run up the stairs instead. Ryan stared after her.

Gabbie hesitated. "What just happened?" He was pretending to ignore her. But he hadn't walked away, which was something. "_Ryan_. What happened with those two?"

"What does it matter to _you_?" He set his gaze on her.

She suppressed a quiver. "_It matters_. Mr. Alman is my mother's…" she waved her hand vaguely.

Ryan tortured her with silent staring for a little longer before he sighed.

"She asked him to come over. She said _my dad_ wanted to get him in on some investments. Pretty twisted, huh? The guy is too gullible," he added wryly.

When he did not continue, she prompted, "_And_?"

"And she tried to seduce him," he said with a shrug. "Right there in the living room, can you believe. But your mum can rest easy. He's not into mine at all. He ran off to the bathroom when he caught on to what she was doing."

Gabriella was surprised at her own relieved sigh.

Ryan remained oblivious to it. "I try to tell her," he said, staring at the floor. "I really try. But she's like a little kid that doesn't understand 'no' yet. She will, though. My mum's not stupid."

She nodded. "I know."

"And she's _not_ a bad person."

"I know."

"Just a lonely one."

"It's okay."

Ryan looked up at her and then shook his head. He turned and made his way up the stairs.

Gabriella did not waste oxygen calling after him. She made her way to the living room, hoping the chair she sat on was not the one Mrs. Evans tried to get frisky on.

Just as she decided the floor was a safer option, Sharpay's cellphone rang in her pocket.

Shar began to speak as soon as she heard her breathe.

"Something horrible-"

"I know what really happened," she intercepted.

"You do? How?"

"Is my mum okay?"

"She's _miserable_."

"Wait. I'm coming over…"

Gabriella had barely knocked before Sharpay flung the door open. 

"Your mum needs you," she said anxiously. "She's started _cooking_ again."

Gabbie nodded and slid in past her. She walked up the hallway, rubbing her hands on her thighs.

Gabriella felt a rush of empathy as she watched her mother, sniffing over a hissing saucepan. For the first time, she really saw her sadness.

"Um…Mrs. Montez?"

She looked up, startled. "Oh. Hello. Sharpay."

She shifted her wait onto one leg. "I uh…I heard you were a little upset. About my mum and Mr. Alman."

Mrs. Montez blinked uncertainly.

"But you do _not_ have to worry," she continued. "Mr. Alman and my mother weren't up to anything. I know because I was there. And he couldn't have left fast enough when he realized what she was trying to do."

"Really?" But a second later, she tried to banish her smile and replace it with something more appropriate. She couldn't seem to decide between pity, solemnity or mild curiosity.

Gabriella suppressed a giggle at her efforts. "But…the way she made it sound…"

"The way _she_ made it sound. My mother threw herself at him." She cast an apologetic glance back at Sharpay who was standing in the doorway. "He shut her down and escaped to the bathroom. I think that's when _you_ called. Great timing by the way."

"So they weren't…he wasn't…"

"You want to know what I think, Mrs. Montez?"

The look in her eyes clearly said 'Um…I don't think so', but she refrained.

"I think Mr. Alman is a really great guy. I think you should stop being scared and give him a real chance. Because he's _your_ chance to be happy. And if you give up on him now, you won't be able to live with yourself. You'll always smile and you'll never mean it." She paused. "And this is coming from a girl that doesn't even know you that well."

Slowly, Mrs. Montez's face brightened into a smile.

"Well…thank you very much, Sharpay." She turned her attention back to the pan. "Uh…would you like to stay for dinner? I'm making Gabbie's favorite. You seemed to like it, too, that day at the Alman's…"

**Sharpay **

Sharpay smiled and turned away from the scene. Slowly, quietly, she made her way upstairs. Gabbie had done her part. It was her turn now.

Ryan picked up after two rings.

"Why are you calling me?"

She flopped back on Gabbie's bed. "It's _Sharpay_, moron!"

"Oh. Right. Why are _you_ calling me?

"I wanna talk about Gabbie."

"I really don't want to hear you bitching about her right now, Sharpay."

"Well, good. Because I wasn't going to." She sighed. "Ryan. _Sweetie_. Quit being a little bitch!"

"_What_?"

"You're being totally unfair to Gabbie! How can you be mad for what she did? You are _forever_ going on about how _beautiful_ she is and how much you _like_ her. What was she supposed to do? Block her ears every time you got all sappy? No!" she answered for him. "Because she had to _live_ with you for weeks on end, pretending to be me. How long are you going to hold this against her before you realize the truth?"

"What truth?"

She hesitated for less than a moment. "She _loves_ you, Ryan."

A lengthy pause. "She does?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "_I know_. It's totally gross."

She heard a shuffling and a strange thumping sound. Sharpay could almost see her brother dancing around like a jackass.

"Ryan? Ryan! I'm still on the line."

"I'm coming over there," he breathed.

"What? No! I don't want to see your big mushy reconciliation. She'll come there."

"I'll come where?"

She turned around to see Gabriella standing in the doorway, watching her uncertainly. Sharpay flipped the phone shut.

"_Go home_." She commanded. "Ryan wants to talk to you."

"He does? About what? What did you say to him now?"

Sharpay grinned. "Go over there and you'll see!"

Gabbie's expression shifted slowly from one of suspicion to one of great relief.

"I have this weird feeling you did something nice for me."

"I did it for my brother. And I little bit for you. But let's not dwell. This is the part where you run to meet the love of your life while uplifting music plays in the background."

And right on cue, Gabriella took off, down the stairs, out of the house, and sped away in Shar's pink convertible.

She sighed as she thumped back down the stairs to tell Mrs. Montez Sharpay would not be staying for dinner. She felt a deep sense of loss all of a sudden.

She had not _lost_ him, per se. She would just have to share him. And Ryan was a good guy. She always knew she couldn't keep him to herself forever. Still. Sharpay already missed her brother.

**Gabriella**

Gabriella took the stairs two at a time. Just as she reached the top, Ryan came tumbling into sight and the two collided.

"I thought you weren't coming," he exhaled.

"Are you kidding me? The girl _always_ shows up in these movies."

Ryan paused as the metaphor flew over his head. She rolled her eyes and took his hand, dragging him to his room.

She closed the door behind them and turned, sweeping blonde hair out of her face.

Gabbie smiled. "_Ryan_-"

"I love you, too!" he almost laughed. "I love you and I'm sorry." He took her hands anxiously, rubbing the skin with his thumbs. "I'm _so_ sorry for being such an ass and-"

"Kiss me," she said.

"What?"

"No more apologies! No more talking. Just…" She freed her hands from his grip and clutched at his shirt. She pulled him close, tilting her face up to his like a diver coming up for air.

They were breathing the same breath when Gabbie felt Ryan freeze. She groaned.

"This is weird for you, isn't it?"

"It is _painfully_ weird," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

She smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay. But when I get back in my body, you owe me a very assertive kiss."

Ryan laughed and pulled her into a hug. "That I can promise."

Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

She loved the whole world just then. Even Sharpay.

**A/N: And now I can say with complete confidence that we have one chapter to go! Now imagine how long this would've been without the editing!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: I stayed up way past my ten o'clock bedtime (can you believe I still **_**have**_** a bedtime?), desperate to post this! Only for the site to tell me there was a technical glitch and I couldn't login to post! But anyway. I've done it now!**

**This Friday I'm off to a cultural weekend at a school like six hours away. So the epilogue shall be posted soon after this, so it's all sorted before I go. Love ya, dudes!**

**Disclaimer: Oh, why not! For old times sake!**

…

**Chapter 24**

**Curtain Call**

**Sharpay**

Sharpay didn't ever have flying dreams. Falling dreams rather. Arriving at school in nothing but pink stilettos dreams.

That night, however, she flew. She flew away from the Montez house, over the grand white construction that was East High, past the gym and the public swimming pool and Ryan's playground. She descended to the Bolton residence and floated outside Troy's room, where he lay sprawled out on the bed. She kissed the windowpane before soaring up again, over the mountains and expanses of sand…

As the alarm clock screeched in her ear, Sharpay groaned. Monday morning.

Shar rubbed her eyes groggily. She felt a little weird. Everything seemed…_lighter_. She frowned a little but kept her eyes shut against the sun fighting to get through. Slowly, she put her hands to her face. She felt the mouth, placed the tips of her fingers over the nose. Her hands drifted up to the hair. Sharpay allowed her eyelids to open, a millimeter at a time.

When she found herself staring up at the canopy of her own bed, Sharpay was seized by a tremor of laughter. She shook her head and allowed the hilarity to bubble up into a loud guffaw. A wave of relief and disbelief and sorrow swept over her so that she could hardly breathe.

Sharpay threw the bedcovers off and sprang out of bed. She stared around the large, pink sparkly bedroom, half-laughing and crying and touching herself. Her_self_!

From behind Sharpay's bedroom door, a banshee-like shriek could be heard.

A second later, the door was flung open and Ryan burst into the room. Sharpay beamed at him, continuing to touch her hair, pat her face, touch her chest. And then she realized what a weird thing that was to do in front of her brother so she stroked her stomach instead.

Ryan stood there, puzzled.

"Gabriella?"

"_Ryan_," she choked.

"Yeah?"

She threw her arms open. "_Ryan_!"

He stared at her for a moment before…"Sharpay?"

"_Yeah_!"

"Sharpay?!"

"_Yeah_!"

"No way!"

"_Yes way_!"

Sharpay raced forward, flung herself at her brother and proceeded to hug the life out of him. A few blocks away, Gabriella had woken up.

**Gabriella**

Gabriella leaped around her bedroom like a doe, overcome with silent hysterics. If it were possible to die of pure joy, she would be very dead just then.

When she woke up that morning and realized where she was, _who_ she was, the first thing she could think of was Dorothy coming back from Oz. Ryan had been her Scarecrow and Troy would have to be the Tin Man (he had a heart, it just didn't beat for _her_) and Sharpay, the ferocious but ultimately harmless Lion. Mrs. Evans would be the Wicked Witch and Ms. Darbus was doubtlessly Glinda. For some reason Martha kept popping into her head as Toto…

Gabriella shook her head to clear it of these bizarre musings. She was _back_. Back in her home, in her bed, in her body. _Her_ body! Gabriella smoothed her hands over her torso, her thighs. Her hair. Oh, she loved her hair! She never it knew it was possible to love follicles so deeply.

But despite all her happiness, Gabbie's mind drifted back to the title character in the film. Oz. LuLing. They had to see LuLing. How could this have happened?

She paced the room, scratching her head in confusion. While Gabriella no longer felt anything remotely close to hatred for Sharpay, she certainly did not _love_ her. They had to find LuLing. This could just be a temporary glitch…

"Gabriella?" Her mother's voice floated up from the kitchen. Gabbie beamed. "Hurry up and get dressed!"

She sprinted out of her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Mrs. Montez was making eggs, humming quietly.

Unabashed, Gabriella ran and practically tackled the woman. She squeezed her hard around the shoulders.

"I missed you _so_ much!" she murmured into her shoulder.

Mrs. Montez froze in surprise before relaxing into the embrace. "Have I…been gone?"

"_No_. But I have. In the…_figurative_ sense, of course."

"Um…_okay_. Well, I'm glad to have you back, Gabriella," she grinned. "You must be hungry after your journey. Get changed, then you can eat. And when you get back from school we'll have a nice big dinner, okay?"

"Definitely!" Finally, she released her and hopped back a bit.

"What'll I make?" Mrs. Montez chuckled. "Quesedillas?"

She nodded fervently. "Thanks." Gabriella turned and skipped back to the doorway. "Oh, and Mum?" she stopped and turned.

"Mm-hm?"

"Can we invite the Almans?"

Her smile grew from ear to ear. "_Definitely_."

**Sharpay **

Sharpay and Ryan stood on the steps of East High, watching out for Mrs. Montez's car. Ryan seemed unable to control the tapping of his foot.

Shar thought it pretty weird in a good way that while her brother thought about the love of his adolescent life, she was thinking about that love's ex-boyfriend. An ex-boyfriend Sharpay happened to be in love with herself. Because life just wasn't complicated enough.

So while Sharpay rejoiced over the return to her body, a quiet niggling voice in the back of her mind chanted, "_Troy, Troy, Troy_". Now she could no longer hide behind the Gabbie mask. She had to put herself on the line for him all over again, completely and honestly, as Sharpay, the crazy melodramatic bitch that adored him. But what plagued Sharpay most was the fear of whether or not he would accept her for who she really was.

Sharpay was so lost in thought that she only noticed Gabriella when she leaped into Ryan's grasp.

She grimaced and looked around aimlessly, waiting for them to come up for air. It was starting to seem like the two would simply go on kissing until they suffocated. She rolled her eyes. Students were stopping in their tracks and staring, jaws hanging.

"_Jeez Louis_." Sharpay could not look right at Ryan because then she would see Gabriella attached to him. She stared around the general vicinity of his head instead. "Ease up already! She's not going to evaporate."

As if her voice had dragged them back to reality, Ryan and Gabriella immediately separated.

"Sharpay!" Gabbie grinned sheepishly. "I didn't see you there!"

"Of course, you didn't." She put a hand on her hip. "So you're you again."

"And you're you."

They stared at each other uncertainly, and for a moment Ryan was the forgotten one. He cleared his throat to remind them of his presence.

"I'm gonna head to homeroom," he told Gabbie. "I think you two have some stuff to say to each other."

Gabriella nodded and pecked him quickly on the lips before he turned and floated away.

Sharpay sighed audibly. "So I guess you two are _a thing_ now."

"Yep. Guess we are."

"Well, don't sound so _happy_ about it!"

"Um…_okay_. Sorry. I'll try to sound as _miserable_ as possible from now on."

"_Thanks_." Despite her somewhat terse tone, Sharpay smiled a little. Gabbie reciprocated it. "Well, I guess the show's over then, huh?"

"Kinda crazy, huh?" Sharpay nodded. Gabbie hesitated. "I'm…glad. I think. That this happened. If it hadn't, I don't think I ever would have found Ryan."

"Yeah. And I would have never made out with Troy!"

Gabbie's tongue worked into her cheek wryly. "_Well_. I guess it's only fair that you get Troy now."

"I have your blessing?" She tried hard not to sound as grateful as she felt.

"_Sure_. And since you're probably going to be his new girlfriend and all, maybe you could tell him about me and Ryan?"

Sharpay pursed her lips. "Well, it'll be hard. But I'll do my best."

They agreed to go to the Great Wall together after school after Gabbie expressed her concerns about this all being a "temporary glitch". Sharpay hoped not. She was beginning to develop a much greater appreciation for her hair.

Troy was not in homeroom when she got there and so she waited outside, hoping to intercept him before he heard anything about East High's new 'thing'.

Her heart leaped up into her throat when he came strolling towards her, hands in his jean pockets.

"Hi," she said weakly.

He grinned a little. "Hey."

For a moment she was stumped. Damn his disarming boyish grin! "Um…I need to talk to you."

"About?"

Anxiously, she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to an empty stairwell. She released him from her grasp and turned to face him, sweeping hair out of her face with trembling hands.

"I need to talk to you about Ryan and Gabbie."

"About them hooking up?"

She blinked slowly. "You already heard?"

He shrugged and gave a wry, lopsided smirk. "Gossip travels at the speed of light in East High."

Sharpay leaned against a railing and scrutinized him, trying to gauge how upset he really was. Not very upset at al according to her readings.

"Are you okay with it?"

"I'm…surprised. But maybe I shouldn't be. She was always rushing to his defense and everything. And Ryan's a nice guy so…where were you this weekend?" He moved to the step above her and leaned back on the railing as well. "I tried to call your cell but I couldn't get through."

Sharpay blinked, baffled at his sudden shift from the previous conversation. But she could see that he was no longer interested in her brother and his ex. And for that she was glad.

"I missed you," he added, blue gaze set intently on her.

Sharpay cocked an eyebrow. "That so?"

"Mm-hm. You've been avoiding me, Evans."

She smirked. "Well. You were getting clingy."

He tilted his head remorsefully. "_I know_. Can you blame me?"

She looked up at him, her eyelashes a-flutter. "No. It's sweet that you missed me. But I'm back now so don't despair," she added primly.

"You wanna do something after school?"

"Uh…I have to be somewhere this afternoon."

Troy laughed a little. "You really think you're cute, don't you? Playing hard-to-get."

"I am _not_!" she protested. "_Seriously_. I'm free tonight. We'll do anything you want."

"That a promise?"

"Of course."

And for the first time that morning, Sharpay was truly happy to be herself.

**Gabriella**

"The fortune said you had to find selfless love. But not necessarily with _each other_."

Gabriella blinked slowly. Talk about a loophole!

Sharpay and Gabbie sat across the table from LuLing and her daughter, Lee. They had excitedly recounted how they found themselves back to normal that morning, Lee translating as they went along. And now this. But she still didn't get it.

"I don't think I found selfless love," she said, glancing at Sharpay.

Lee frowned uncertainly, but Sharpay spoke up. "Yeah, you did. You totally gave up your mum to Mr. Alman. You knew she cared about him and wanted to be with him and you helped make it happen."

Gabriella smiled a little. It was true. She had been selfless at that point, acknowledging that her mother needed to come first for once.

"Well…_you_ did the same for me and Ryan. I mean, I know you don't like me very much. But you helped anyway because you cared about him. That was really nice of you, Sharpay."

And in that moment, Gabriella was afraid she sort of liked the blonde sitting next to her. She looked away from her, to the aged woman who was smiling at them discretely. She began to speak in her soft, lilting dialect and Gabriella waited before asking:

"What did she say, Lee?"

Lee smiled wearily. "She said…what do you think of my Chinese voodoo _now_?"

**Author's Note: (**_**sniff, sniff, random chuckle, sniff sniff**_**) I am both sad and ecstatic to be done with this. From now on, all my fics will be ten chapters or less! But thank you to all who've read and reviewed! And even to the two who flamed. Yep. Don't think I've forgotten you, jackasses! But I'm not bitter. **

**An epilogue **_**will**_** follow this. I wrote it like a month ago and I've been jonesing to post it!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Authors's Note: That's it! I'm done! HUZZAH! **

**EPILOGUE**

**A Year of Madness**

**Gabriella **

"Do you, Michael Alman, take this Lola Montez, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

"_I do_."

"And do you, Lola Montez, take this Michael Alman, to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"  
"_I do_."

"Then without further spanking the puppy, I now pronounce you _husband and wife_! You may kiss the bride, and keep it PG please."

A rumbling chuckle followed this and Gabriella clapped along with everyone else as the veil was lifted. It had the same effect of someone lifting the shade off of a lamp. Her mother glowed.

The eccentric Spanish priest waved the couple off and they made their way up the aisle, hand in hand. Mrs. Montez turned back to Gabbie, an irrepressible beam lighting up her face, and blew a kiss. She smiled in return but mused at the same time that this was very weird. She was the maid of honor at her own mother's wedding. But then, it was a good kind of weird. And stranger things had happened.

Ryan was there to kiss her outside the church. He looked rather debonair in his retro blue suit, sandy-blonde hair spiked up.

"Good job," he murmured in her ear over the cheers and flying confetti. Mrs. Montez waved out as the car pulled away from the church.

Gabbie grinned. "Good job just standing there?"

"Ah, but you stand beautifully, my dear." He took her hand and laced his fingers into hers. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I am. It feels good. Like we're right where we should be. Know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean."

Back at the Alman residence (where Gabriella, Marie and the newlyweds had been living for some five months now), a cluster of women scurried around the bedroom.

Gabriella's grandmother, with her round, sweet face like a sundried apple, was still in tears, stroking Mrs. Montez's (lawfully Mrs. _Alman's_) cheeks. Sharpay also fussed over the woman who had become her second mother, smoothing out creases in the dress that only her trained eyes could see.

Ronnie and Kim were helping Gabbie's cousin, Ana fix her shoes, the heels of which had miraculously broken at the same time. Marie was changing into her red skirt and shoes while Mrs…_Alman's_ best friend, Jen touched up her make-up.

Gabbie looked out of the window by which she stood, into the busy garden. Poor old Michael didn't have the privilege of changing out of his suit, and was currently griping to Laurence, the man, the myth, the legend who had planned this event. Gabbie knew Laurie was saying something like, "_Babycakes_, I wouldn't care if it was a hundred degrees out. If you're gonna make the lady up there happy, you are going to wear this frikkin' suit and you are going to _rock it_!"

She smiled and looked around the room again, her eyes focusing on Sharpay.

If you had told Gabriella a year and a bit ago that she and Sharpay Evans would be bridesmaids at her mother's wedding, almost friends and no longer enemies, she would have laughed. And then the little bit about Ryan being her boyfriend and Troy being Sharpay's would have had her in stitches.

But here they were. Lined up outside of a candle-lit tent, getting ready to celebrate the end and the beginning.

"_Ladies and gents_!" Laurie's voice boomed from inside the tent. "Please welcome our newlyweds, the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Alman!"

The roar of applause from family and friends inside may just have lifted the tent. Gabbie looked to Ryan as the couple moved inside.

"You ready, Wildcat?"

Ryan offered his arm and she linked hers in. "_Always_."

A year ago Gabriella would have laughed. And now she was so happy, all she could do was smile.

"Hey, you two!" Sharpay stood behind them with Troy, and behind _them_ were the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. "Can we get the procession going some time this _year_?"

They snorted, shook their heads and glided out of the past, into their new lives together…

**Sharpay **

In some strange way, Sharpay felt that if she let go of Troy's hand, she might slip away from him for good. She would wake up and it would all have been a dream. So for the rest of the night they held hands.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen sat at the longest table in the room, watching the first dance. The lights were low in the crimson tent, so that you could hardly see the pair. Only their silhouettes, inextricably linked. Sharpay did not feel any self-righteous smugness as she watched them. Just a deep satisfaction. Still. She could make a living out of this matchmaking thing.

Shar glanced down the table to where Ryan and Gabriella sat, whispering sweet nonsense to each other. She resisted the urge to shake her head in disbelief. So much had changed in a year.

For Sharpay, she had more friends. She had a happier brother and a calmer mother. Mrs. Evans had been invited to the wedding but declined. She promised Sharpay and Ryan that they would find her at home, though, maybe play Scrabble or something if they were up for it. She seemed to mean it, but Sharpay wasn't too sure. Still. She was feeling very optimistic just then. Very hopeful.

Troy. The boy sitting next to her, clasping her hand under the table and staring at her as if trying to draw a picture to keep in his mind. He made her hope.

She looked away, trying to regain her ability to breathe, and stared at Gabbie once more. The most surprising thing about her relationship with Montez was that she _didn't_ hate her. Gabriella had become a natural part of her life almost. She was her brother's love, her classmate, her fellow drama queen. Not yet a friend, no longer an adversary. Just _there_.

The floor opened and soon the romantic area turned into more of a nightclub. A nightclub in which the only way to be cool was to do 'The Macarena'.

Sharpay stood and drew Troy to his feet, away from the table. But instead of leading him to the center of the room she pulled him towards the exit, and they slid out together.

"Where are we going?"

"In search of privacy."

"We'll miss the cake-cutting."

"_Anti-climax_, believe me."

Not wanting to use Gabriella's room, Sharpay could only find the privacy she sought in the second floor bathroom.

"You know," Troy muttered, staring out the open window, "all this wedding stuff's got me in a romantic mood." He turned back to her. "So tell me. What do you want to do? Where do you want do go? Anything you ask, _it's yours_."

Sharpay gave a vague smirk. "Hm", she hummed. She strolled towards him and hooked her arms around his neck. Sharpay made to kiss him before drawing back as soon as his lips touched hers. Troy pouted. "I want," she purred, "to play…_Scrabble_."

His eyebrows disappeared under the fringe of sandy-brown hair. "Scrabble?"

She nodded sweetly. "S-C-R-A-B-B-L-E. You said I could have _anything_ I asked for," she added when he looked put out.

Troy rested his hands on her waist. "_Fine_. Scrabble it is. But be prepared. I have a very big vocabulary."

She sighed. "_You boys_. Always bragging about the size of your vocab…"

Sharpay's giggle was cut off when he swooped down to kiss her. As she melted into the embrace, Sharpay knew this was a dream she would never have to wake up from…

**The Narrator **

The exterior of the house glowed with fairy lights and the smiles of the guests, bustling outside for the big send-off.

Sharpay, Gabriella, Marie, Mrs. Montez Snr. and the bridesmaids stood by the car. It was a hugfest as Mrs. Alman rushed to embrace as many people as possible.

Meanwhile, Michael pulled Gabriella into his now trademark bearhug. Gabbie let her stepfather hug her now. She hugged him back, and felt it as an expression of love, no longer a betrayal to the dad she knew was happy for this day.

Mr. Alman left her to tend to his own beaming daughter and it was then that Gabriella's mother appeared.

"_You two be good_," she murmured in Sharpay's ear, pulling her close.

"Aren't we always?"

The hug was longer for Gabriella, and to her daughter she whispered, "_Te amo, Gabbie_. You and your father. Always."

She shut her eyes against the sudden swell of sadness. "_Love you, too_."

An eager aunt grabbed Mrs. Alman's hand, dragged her over, and began to smother her with kisses.

Mr. Alman watched his wife get drawn deeper and deeper into the gathering. "_Lola_!" he called. "We'll miss our flight!"

It was then that the bride realized she could _not_, unfortunately, hug the whole word. She gave a big wave instead and ran back to the car.

They screamed and tossed confetti until the car drove out of sight and their arms ached from waving. Marie departed to console her own weepy grandmother, and so Sharpay and Gabriella were left, staring after nothing.

"You know…" said Sharpay. "The other day, I saw this green blouse that was _too_ cute. Might look better on you, though."

"You think?" said Gabriella.

"_Yep_. You wanna go to the mall tomorrow and check it out?"

She gave her a wry look. "Won't people be kind of weirded out by us _shopping_ together?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

Gabbie grinned. "Can't argue with that."

**A/N: I think my next project might be a Chadpay! Yep. I'd like to experiment a little with that! Thanks, everyone. Ciao for now!**

**Peace and GBU**

**Ebony Hedlund**


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